“What kinds of questions feel easier to ask AI than a human?”

This is a question that the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Center for Digital Thriving has been encouraging adults to ask young people since ChatGPT and other models burst onto the scene a few years ago. Now, a national survey from Common Sense Media called AI Use by Tweens and Teens fills in more details on how many teens might answer that question. It also reinforces the need for parents to keep asking it.

What are kids turning to AI for?

When the Center for Digital Thriving started creating these kinds of conversation starters for adults (in the olden times, less than three years ago), only 4% of young people were daily AI users. Even then, youth were bringing vulnerable questions to large language models. In a 2024 report, one teen noted that AI “can give you an outlet to talk about things you don’t want anyone else to know.”

Fast forward to today, and the new Common Sense data shows that now 86% of kids ages seven to eighteen are using AI. Nearly one in four are daily users. Most young people are using AI for fun and entertainment as well as for school and homework help. They are also using AI to: 

• Get advice on decisions about their future or goals (49%)
• Practice conversations and social skills (40%)
• Discuss feelings or personal problems (37%)

The other topics on kids’ minds? Health and bodies. More than half (57%) of kids who use AI have used it to get information or advice about their health or body. It is encouraging that the majority of kids (73%) would still prefer to chat with an adult about their health and body before a chatbot. For daily AI users, though, that drops to only half.

Embarrassing questions, unreliable answers?

Kids have always sought out nonjudgmental and shame-free spaces to ask questions about sex, puberty, bodies, and health. It can be admittedly awkward to turn toward a parent and ask important questions like those that were submitted in 2024 to a teen health website:

• “How do I come out to my best friend?”
• “Can I get pregnant after my partner washes their hands?”
• “Why is my left testicle hurting?”

Luckily, these questions were fielded by qualified staff with oversight from health professionals. Unfortunately, many questions kids type into search engines do not land in such qualified hands. Google, TikTok, and YouTube have been stepping into the void for years now, delivering what can only be described as a deeply mixed bag when it comes to accuracy and quality. On one hand, health educators are taking to social media to try close the gaps in sex education. On the other hand, a 2023 content analysis showed that YouTube influencers are likely to share unhelpful or inaccurate information related to birth control.

In an ideal world, AI models could be trained on evidence-based information and provide a meaningful alternative to algorithmically driven feeds and the sea of online influencers. Research on chatbots as complementary tools for delivering sexual health education is promising and ongoing. The Joan Ganz Cooney just released a Co-Design With Kids Toolkit to model what it looks like to build platforms for and with kids and youth from the ground up.

Unfortunately, large commercial AI platforms weren’t built with the same priorities from the start. Common Sense Media’s AI risk assessment team has rated most of the major AI platforms from medium to high or unacceptable risk levels for kids and teens. 

Young people can get helpful information from models like ChatGPT, but doing so comes with some risk. No matter what, they benefit from adults talking to them about AI literacy and ensuring they have access to reliable resources about health and bodies. 

The costs of our silence

Part of the challenge is that our human systems also lack important safety features when it comes to health and wellbeing including access to evidence-based information, affordable and accessible healthcare, and ongoing conversations with caring adults. 

Only half of young people in the United States are getting sex education that meets minimum standards. Affirming and accurate sex education information is even less common for LGBTQ+ teens. Most of us don’t make up for this by talking about either sexual health or AI safety. More than 4 in 10 kids are not having AI safety conversations with parents or teachers, and only half of kids have heard from their school or teacher about how to tell if information from AI is accurate or trustworthy.

In other words, the data is a compelling invitation to invest in accessible systems that support child and adolescent health and to start talking at home.

Let’s not leave it to the bots alone

I remember feeling deeply embarrassed when my parents gave me books about puberty and placed them onto the bookshelf in my room, alongside my favorite novels. I was even more embarrassed when they started conversations about these topics in person. Looking back, though, it is clear that it would have been far more mortifying if I had had to figure out how to start these conversations on my own. The high awkwardness quotient would likely have sent me running to the nearest chatbot.

It’s helpful to channel the gratitude we will receive in the future from our adult children when we need a dose of courage to keep talking to our kids today. In the words of Dr. Megan Maas, “In our media-saturated era, we no longer have the luxury of silence.” 

Whether you start with a book, a podcast, or a conversation, here are some ways to get started:

Look for resources that help you feel more prepared:

• Check out the work of Dr. Cara Natterson and Vanessa Kroll Bennett at Less Awkward for science-based, joyful, and engaging advice about talking to kids about puberty and adolescence. 
• Read the book Talk to Your Boys by Joanna Schroeder and Christopher Pepper for guidance on how to start difficult but essential conversations.
• Find links to quality and accurate information at the Teen Health Hub WA including links for identity- and culturally-affirming resources.

Provide accurate and evidence-based resources:

• Check out the new podcast from our friends at Brains On Universe called Puberty! (The Podcast). Designed for kids 7-12, the show covers everything from brain chemicals to mood swings to pimples, in a friendly and digestible package.
• Check out Common Sense Media’s recommended books about puberty. Pop them onto your bookshelf to normalize them. 
• Make sure your child knows who they can talk to about health concerns, including primary care providers, community clinics, mental health support staff, and school-based health center providers.

Talk about AI literacy:

• Check out this AI literacy toolkit for families from Common Sense Media. This is packed full of videos, interactive exercises, and conversation starters. 
• Check out resources from the Rithm Project including the Sparks Toolkit, a set of resources that help us explore the impact of AI on human connection.