About 12% of US teens turn to AI for emotional support or advice

HEADLINE: 12% of US Teens Rely on AI Chatbots for Emotional Support, Pew Study Finds

LEAD: A new Pew Research Center report released Tuesday shows that 12% of American teenagers are using AI chatbots for emotional support or advice, raising concerns among mental health professionals about the psychological risks of general-purpose tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok.

BODY: The study found that while information search (57%) and homework help (54%) remain the dominant uses of AI among teens, a significant minority are turning to chatbots for roles traditionally filled by friends and family. Sixteen percent of US teens report using AI for casual conversation.

Mental health experts warn that these general-purpose systems are not designed for therapeutic use. Dr. Nick Haber, a Stanford professor researching the therapeutic potential of large language models, told TechCrunch that "these systems can be isolating," noting that humans are inherently social creatures.

In extreme cases, mental health professionals caution that chatbot interactions can produce life-threatening psychological effects.

WHAT'S NEXT: The findings underscore growing scrutiny of AI's role in teen mental health as adoption accelerates.