Michael Robb

 Common Sense Media has embarked on an inaugural study of AI use among America’s tweens and teens. This is the first in a series of studies tracking young people’s experiences with AI over time. In subsequent years, we will engage new cohorts of tweens and teens to understand how their experiences with AI change or remain the same over time. This report considers the knowledge and experience that kids age 9 to 17 have with AI, including how frequently they use it, what they use it for, and what questions and advice they are searching for.

The rapid rise of AI companions has created new digital social environments. While some of these platforms claim to be designed for users age 18 and older, they rely on ineffective self-reporting for age assurance, which allows easy access for younger users. Other platforms, such as Character.AI, are explicitly marketed to children as young as 13.

YouTube videos viewed by children do not reflect the ethnic diversity of young children, tweens, and teens across the United States. In videos watched by young children, portrayals of BIPOC characters are disproportionately negative when compared to White characters. In videos watched by 0- to 8-year-olds, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) character portrayals were shallow or missing almost three-quarters of the time.

This survey is the second wave of an ongoing study tracking social media use among American teenagers: how often they use social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook; their attitudes about social media’s role in their lives; experiences they have on social media; and how social media makes them feel. As such, it offers a unique opportunity to observe changes in social media use over time, and to deepen our understanding of the role of social media in teens’ lives. Some key findings: