Young people use AI daily for many reasons, such as for learning or entertainment — but for some, it’s personal. For 12% of US-based teens, AI is a source of emotional support and advice.
Hopelab, in partnership with the Center for Digital Thriving, talked with 30 teens (aged 14-17) and young adults (aged 18-22) about their experiences with generative AI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Findings reveal young people’s perspectives on when and why they turn to these tools for emotional support, while some express skepticism.
When young people need emotional support, many want to feel understood, listened to, and validated. This report highlights how some young people turn to AI chatbots for their immediate and detailed responses, endless availability, “unbiased” perspectives on a situation, and concrete advice, which they view as support that they cannot always get from a human. Similarly, findings show that young people are afraid of being a burden and making themselves vulnerable by talking to others about their issues, making AI an ideal line of support for them.
The findings from our conversations with young people show varied perspectives: some highlighted AI as a regular tool for coping and said that it made them feel more understood than a human. On the other hand, some mentioned how AI lacks a certain human aspect and can encourage people to become dependent on it by “pandering” to what the user wants to hear. The goals of the young person seeking support can influence whether they feel that they benefit from it in a way that humans cannot provide, or if they may be opposed to using AI chatbots for their personal issues.
One reason young people turn to AI chatbots for emotional support is to avoid burdening other people in their lives, especially if they may already be dealing with their own stress. Several young people feared the toll it would take on loved ones to explain their issues to them, so they would use AI chatbots as a way to cope “on [their] own.”
Young people mentioned that they use AI chatbots for emotional support because AI chatbots wouldn’t judge them or use the experiences they shared against them, particularly for more sensitive topics. A young adult also expressed how talking to AI chatbots gave them a sense of control over their conversations.
When young people told AI chatbots about personal struggles that people in their lives may not be able to relate to, they felt that the chatbot’s responses suggested they took them seriously. They also thought the chatbot understood their struggles in a way that other individuals in their lives did not. Additionally, some young people felt that friends they’ve talked to about their problems in the past didn’t validate their feelings or couldn’t understand their experiences. Speaking to AI chatbots about these situations helped them fill these gaps.
In times of need, some young people prefer talking to AI chatbots about their issues due to their open availability, quick responses, and real-time support. For example, a Black young adult woman we talked to mentioned an experience in which she needed emotional support late at night; she couldn’t seek help from a person in her life because they were asleep, so she turned to an AI chatbot for immediate support. However, some young people also discussed how relying on AI for quick responses and availability has reshaped their expectations of their friends in their social interactions.
At times, a young person will be in a situation where they need another perspective, but they consider the people in their lives too close to be neutral. In turn, they will turn to AI chatbots as a neutral third party. This is especially seen in young people trying to navigate the conflicts they face.
While some young people say AI chatbots can point out if you’re “in the wrong,” others were concerned about how AI chatbots tend to agree with users and tell them what they want to hear. This pattern may prompt people to continue turning to AI chatbots for emotional support and encourage dependence.
In past situations where young people wanted concrete advice to manage their struggles, some thought AI chatbots would do so more effectively than the people in their lives. A Black teen girl we talked to found that ChatGPT would meet her desire to deeply explore her struggles and receive specific strategies for her issues, after feeling that her parents only gave her “surface-level” advice. Some also leaned on AI chatbots to act as a knowledgeable adult figure in their life.
Many developmental, social-emotional, and literacy implications exist as young people turn to AI for emotional support and advice. Combining our findings with past research, questions remain about how AI chatbots may affect a person’s perceptions and expectations of what support should look like in a human relationship, how users behave from personal advice given by AI chatbots, key literacies for young people to understand how their data is stored by AI companies, and what safeguards are in place to protect their privacy.
