In our community data, 8% of kids are using AI for homework, 6% for creative projects, and 1% for entertainment — but these categories don't capture the kids using AI companions for emotional support, which is happening increasingly outside parental view.

The appeal is pretty straightforward:

One parent recently shared with the Washington Post that their teen was spending hours daily talking to an AI companion about depression and suicidal thoughts — conversations the parents knew nothing about until they discovered the chat logs.

Common Sense Media strongly recommends that kids and teens under 18 not use AI companions at all. Here's why experts are worried:

The U.S. Surgeon General warned earlier this year that AI companions can actually damage real-world relationships. When kids practice social skills with an entity that never disagrees, never has bad days, and always validates them, they're not learning the hard work of actual friendship — compromise, repair, empathy, reading social cues.

Real humans are messy. They have needs. They sometimes say the wrong thing. Learning to navigate that messiness is literally how kids develop social-emotional skills.

Unlike human relationships, AI companions have no boundaries and no consequences for breaking them. This can confuse children about what's appropriate in relationships. An AI companion might engage in conversations about topics that would be inappropriate with an adult, creating a distorted sense of what's normal.

Everything your child tells an AI companion is being stored, analyzed, and potentially used for training future AI models. Some platforms have been caught selling user data. Many have vague privacy policies. And unlike a human therapist bound by confidentiality laws, AI companions have no such protections.

AI companions are designed to keep users engaged, which often means telling people what they want to hear. If a teen is spiraling into depression or developing disordered thinking, an AI companion is more likely to validate those feelings than challenge them constructively. Researchers have found these bots can actually reinforce isolation rather than help kids build real connections.

Because these chatbots communicate so realistically, kids easily form genuine emotional attachments. When the app goes down or changes, kids can experience real grief. When they "break up" with an AI companion, the emotional impact can be significant — but they're mourning a relationship that was fundamentally one-sided and artificial.

Look, I get it. Some researchers argue that AI companions might provide a low-stakes environment for kids to practice conversation or voice worries. For extremely socially anxious kids, that could theoretically be helpful.

But here's the thing: the risks dramatically outweigh the potential benefits for minors. If your child is struggling with loneliness or social anxiety, they need actual therapeutic support — not a chatbot that's optimized for engagement metrics and collecting data.

Under 13: Absolutely not. These platforms violate COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) anyway, and young kids are particularly vulnerable to forming unhealthy attachments.

Ages 13-15: Still a hard no from most experts. Early teens are in a critical period for developing real social skills, and AI companions can seriously interfere with that development.

Ages 16-17: Common Sense Media and most child development experts still recommend avoiding these platforms entirely. If your teen is already using one, it's time for an honest conversation (see below).

Ages 18+: Even for adults, mental health professionals caution against using AI companions as a substitute for real relationships or therapy.

If your child isn't using AI companions yet:

If you discover your child is using AI companions:

For homework and creative AI use: Our data shows most kids (8%) are using AI for homework help, which is a completely different conversation. Tools like ChatGPT or Claude can be valuable learning tools when used appropriately and with adult guidance. Learn more about AI for homework.

AI companions aren't just another app. They're designed to create emotional dependency, and they're doing it with kids whose brains are still developing the capacity for healthy relationships.

The fact that 85% of kids in our community aren't using AI at all is actually reassuring — this isn't yet universal. But the trend is growing, and it's worth having conversations now, before your kid downloads Character.AI because their friend told them about it.

Real friendships are hard. They require vulnerability, patience, compromise, and sometimes uncomfortable conversations. But that difficulty is literally the point — it's how humans learn to connect, empathize, and build meaningful relationships.

An AI that tells you exactly what you want to hear, whenever you want to hear it, isn't a friend. It's a product designed to keep you engaged. And our kids deserve better than that.

If you're dealing with this in your family, you're not alone. The Screenwise community is here to help you navigate these complicated decisions with actual data and real support.