{"id":30653,"date":"2025-07-23T07:03:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/30653\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T07:03:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:03:11","slug":"these-tips-from-experts-can-help-your-teenager-navigate-ai-companions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/30653\/","title":{"rendered":"These tips from experts can help your teenager navigate AI companions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As artificial intelligence technology becomes part of daily life, adolescents are turning<\/a> to chatbots for advice, guidance and conversation. The appeal is clear: Chatbots are patient, never judgmental, supportive and always available. <\/p>\n

That worries experts who say the booming AI industry is largely unregulated and that many parents have no idea about how their kids are using AI tools or the extent of personal information they are sharing with chatbots.<\/p>\n

New research<\/a> shows more than 70% of American teenagers have used AI companions and more than half converse with them regularly. The study by Common Sense Media focused on \u201cAI companions,\u201d like Character. AI, Nomi and Replika, which it defines as \u201cdigital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want,\u201d versus AI assistants or tools like ChatGPT, though it notes they can be used the same way.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important that parents understand the technology. Experts suggest some things parents can do to help protect their kids:<\/p>\n

\u2014 Start a conversation, without judgment, says Michael Robb, head researcher at Common Sense Media. Approach your teen with curiosity and basic questions: \u201cHave you heard of AI companions?\u201d \u201cDo you use apps that talk to you like a friend?\u201d Listen and understand what appeals to your teen before being dismissive or saying you\u2019re worried about it.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Help teens recognize that AI companions are programmed to be agreeable and validating. Explain that\u2019s not how real relationships work and that real friends with their own points of view can help navigate difficult situations in ways that AI companions cannot.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that’s really concerning is not only what’s happening on screen but how much time it\u2019s taking kids away from relationships in real life,\u201d says Mitch Prinstein, chief of psychology at the American Psychological Association. \u201cWe need to teach kids that this is a form of entertainment. It’s not real, and it’s really important they distinguish it from reality and should not have it replace relationships in your actual life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The APA recently put out a health advisory<\/a> on AI and adolescent well-being, and tips for parents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Parents should watch for signs of unhealthy attachments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your teen is preferring AI interactions over real relationships or spending hours talking to AI companions, or showing that they are becoming emotionally distressed when separated from them \u2014 those are patterns that suggest AI companions might be replacing rather than complementing human connection,\u201d Robb says.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Parents can set rules about AI use, just like they do for screen time and social media. Have discussions about when and how AI tools can and cannot be used. Many AI companions are designed for adult use and can mimic romantic, intimate and role-playing scenarios.<\/p>\n

While AI companions may feel supportive, children should understand the tools are not equipped to handle a real crisis or provide genuine mental health support. If kids are struggling with depression, anxiety, loneliness, an eating disorder or other mental health challenges, they need human support \u2014 whether it is family, friends or a mental health professional.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Get informed. The more parents know about AI, the better. \u201cI don’t think people quite get what AI can do, how many teens are using it and why it’s starting to get a little scary,\u201d says Prinstein, one of many experts calling for regulations to ensure safety guardrails for children. \u201cA lot of us throw our hands up and say, \u2018I don\u2019t know what this is!’ This sounds crazy!’ Unfortunately, that tells kids if you have a problem with this, don’t come to me because I am going to diminish it and belittle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older teenagers have advice, too, for parents and kids. Banning AI tools is not a solution because the technology is becoming ubiquitous, says Ganesh Nair, 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying not to use AI is like trying to not use social media today. It is too ingrained in everything we do,\u201d says Nair, who is trying to step back from using AI companions after seeing them affect real-life friendships in his high school. \u201cThe best way you can try to regulate it is to embrace being challenged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything that is difficult, AI can make easy. But that is a problem,\u201d says Nair. \u201cActively seek out challenges, whether academic or personal. If you fall for the idea that easier is better, then you are the most vulnerable to being absorbed into this newly artificial world.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list<\/a> of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As artificial intelligence technology becomes part of daily life, adolescents are turning to chatbots for advice, guidance and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[25789,182,966,181,507,28,526,793,97,149,74,18224,795],"class_list":["post-30653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-25789","tag-ai","tag-article","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-business","tag-education","tag-general-news","tag-health","tag-lifestyle","tag-technology","tag-teens","tag-u-s-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}