Study finds a third of teens prefer AI companions over real friends

A new study shows that a third of American teenagers prefer chatting with artificial intelligence companions over having real friends.

Common Sense Media’s report, titled “Talk, Trust, and Trade-Offs: How and Why Teens Use AI Companions,” revealed that the most widespread uses of AI are aged 13-17.

The report explained further that the “use of AI companions is not a niche interest, but rather mainstream teen behavior” and that teens “find conversations with AI companions to be as satisfying or more satisfying than those with real-life friends.”

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“AI companions are emerging at a time when kids and teens have never felt more alone,” Common Sense Media Founder and CEO James P. Steyer said in the press release. 

“This isn’t just about a new technology — it’s about a generation that’s replacing human connection with machines, outsourcing empathy to algorithms, and sharing intimate details with companies that don’t have kids’ best interests at heart. Our research shows that AI companions are far more commonplace than people may have assumed — and that we have a narrow window to educate kids and families about the well-documented dangers of these products.”

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Although nearly half of teens used AI companions as a tool, the report also stated that 33% of teens use AI companions for social interactions and emotional support. For example, teens would use them for living out relationships, emotional support, role-playing, romantic interactions and friendship.

A writer at Daze who cited the study raised awareness about the loneliness epidemic among young people and that it could lead to an invasion of privacy.

“Some teenagers are telling AI their most intimate problems and secrets, which poses another problem – it’s not a good idea to entrust this information to tech companies, some of whom have an extremely lax approach to data privacy. Would you really want Sam Altman or Elon Musk to have access to the contents of your teenage diary?” James Greig wrote in Daze.

He added that it underscores a “larger crisis of youth loneliness” as teenagers stopped hanging out at malls and going to the movies, “which has corresponded with rising rates of depression and anxiety.”

“Being able to speak to an AI companion might alleviate the feeling of loneliness, and some people may find it helpful, but if it’s becoming a replacement for socializing in the real world, then it risks entrenching the problem,” Greig added.