64% of young people say they use AI chatbots because of mental health concerns
Nearly two-thirds of American youth ages 13 to 17 say they use AI chats, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center, which says we use them every day.
Going even beyond daily use, 16% of teens reported using AI chatbots “several times a day” or “almost always.”
Chatgpt was far and away the most used chatbot, according to the report, with 59% saying they use it. The next most used was Gemini’s Gemini at 23% and meta ai at 20%. Anthropic’s Claude was the most popular Chatbot among teenagers, with only 3% of readers saying they use it.
The discovery of human studies is also interesting. Black and Hispanic youth reported using chat AI more than white youth, and chatgpt use was more common among youth in high-income households, while low- and middle-income youth were more likely to use character.ai.
The discovery comes as the use of artificial intelligence among children has become one of the most controversial topics to hit the industry this year.
Opena has been pressured to implement guardrails such as parental controls and automatic “appropriate” settings for children, after a wrongful-death lawsuit was filed earlier this year. In fact, a California couple allegedly discussed helping the suicide of their 16-year-old son, Adam Raine.
After Alea’s death on April 11, 2025, her parents chatted with ChatGt dating back to the months of her suicide, helped her write a suicide note, and calmed her about her suicidal thoughts.
The tragedy of the Rain Family came in the same months, when a Florida mother sued the actress of Florida.iai after one of the company’s interviews told her 14-year-old son to come to me immediately, “before he killed himself immediately.
The American Psychological Association warned the FTC about the issue at a meeting in February, urging the use of AI Chatbots groups as creating at-risk groups such as children and teenagers who “lack the knowledge to assess risks.”
AI Chatbots have also come under intense scrutiny for inappropriate conversations with children. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri opened an investigation in August over a report by opponents who found that the Tech Giant allowed its conversations involving “children” and children “with children.
Sen. Hawley has since introduced Affirmative Action in Congress, a bipartisan bill that would have forced AI companies to be age-verified to block children. This bill recently received many cospososors on Tuesday, showing that the matter is gaining momentum in DC, as Trump has made his intentions clear when it comes to allowing AI companies to enjoy a regulatory environment in many sectors.
The Pew study also looked at teenagers’ use of social media, with a large majority saying they use social media at least several times a day. According to the report, about one-in-five teenagers said they use Tiktok and YouTube – the two most popular social media apps among teenagers – “almost always.”
The negative health and physical effects of spending the most formative years of your life full of screens have been well documented. Specifically in relation to social media, many studies have linked its use to depression, anxiety, attention deficit, and more.
Regulators around the world are taking this into account. Starting Wednesday, Australia began implementing the first social media ban for children under the age of 16. Other governments, Malaymark, Malaymark, in the European Parliament, have shared plans to follow suit.
