A new wave of fears about kids and technology is brewing, with parents and experts increasingly asking questions about how children use smartphones, social media and screens. But that hasn’t stopped teens from embracing generative AI. New research reveals which AI tools teens in the United States are using and how often—and how little their parents know about them.
Seven in 10 teens in the United States have used generative AI tools, according to a report published today by Common Sense Media. The nonprofit analyzed survey responses from U.S. parents and high school students between March and May 2024 to assess the scale and contours of AI adoption among teens. More than half of students surveyed had used AI text generators and chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini, as well as search engines with AI-generated results. About 34 percent had used image generators such as DALL-E, and 22 percent had used video generators.
The research found that American teens are embracing AI at the same rate as their peers in the UK, where the Office of Communications found late last year that four in five teens were using generative AI tools. It also shows that the pace of adoption is accelerating; in an earlier report on teens and AI released by Common Sense Media in June, based on responses as of late 2023, only about half of respondents had used generative AI.
The most common reason for using AI was school-related, with more than half saying they used it for “homework help,” primarily to “brainstorm ideas.” (Older teens were more likely to do this than younger ones.) The second most common reason was good old-fashioned boredom, followed by translating content from one language to another. One in five teens had used generative AI tools to joke with friends.
The survey results underscore how challenging and confusing educational institutions have found this moment. Six in 10 teens reported that their school either had no AI policies, or they didn’t know what those policies were. There’s no clear emerging standard for whether teachers should embrace or reject AI use; nearly as many teens reported using AI without their teacher’s permission as those who reported using it with their teacher’s blessing. More than 80 percent of parents said their child’s school had “not communicated anything” about generative AI. Only 4 percent reported that schools are banning generative AI. “We’re seeing almost a paralysis of schools,” said Amanda Lenhart, chief research officer at Common Sense.
When teachers had conversations with their students about using AI, it tended to influence the way the kids viewed the technology. “Teens are really listening and learning,” says Lenhart, who notes that the students who received instruction from their teachers were more likely to understand how the technology worked and were more likely to check whether it produced hallucinations or factually correct sentences. “It makes a big difference.”
One striking finding from the study was how unaware many parents are about whether their children are using generative AI. Only 37 percent of parents with children using AI tools knew they were doing so. Nearly a quarter of parents with children using AI tools incorrectly assumed they weren’t. Most parents had not discussed AI with their children.
