Overview
- OnSide’s Generation Isolation 2025 survey of 5,035 youths aged 11 to 18 in England reports that 39% have turned to AI chatbots for advice, support, or companionship.
- Roughly 19% to 20% of respondents who use chatbots say it feels easier than talking to a person, with speed, constant availability, curiosity, fun, and perceived anonymity cited as drivers.
- Use cases include 11% for mental-health support, 12% for company, and 14% for friendship or social advice, while 61% say they have never chosen chatbots over humans for such needs.
- Stanford Medicine and Common Sense Media recently found major general-use chatbots fundamentally unsafe for teen mental-health support and unable to handle the full spectrum of conditions.
- Policy and legal pressure is building as U.S. lawmakers propose the bipartisan GUARD Act for age verification and families pursue complaints alleging chatbot involvement in teen suicides.