Two new research reports highlight growing concerns about the impact of AI use on teens and young adults’ mental health and how they use the technology to address those challenges.
The reports—both produced by Youth Futures, a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving the wellbeing of young people in the age of AI; Surgo Health, a public benefit corporation focused on healthcare access; and the JED Foundation, a nonprofit which supports emotional health and suicide prevention for teens and young adults—examine topics that are top of mind for K-12 educators as schools expand their use of artificial intelligence.
Both reports drew on survey data from 1,340 people ages 13 to 24.
One of the two reports—Youth Mental Health in the AI Era: Why Context Matters More Than Technology—outlines six different ways that teens and young adults are engaging with AI. While the majority are using it to learn and grow, 9% have been identified as “emotionally entangled superusers,” or those who are emotionally vulnerable and turn to AI for emotional connection.
The second report—Youth Mental Health in the AI Era: How GenAI Enters Help-Seeking Pathways—found that many teens and young adults who experienced mental health problems actively used GenAI to address those challenges. It’s worth noting that those who used GenAI to address mental health challenges were more likely to experience barriers to accessing quality professional care, according to the report.
“Young people aren’t a monolith and their relationship with AI reflects the broader context of their lives—their relationships, their stressors, and their access to support systems and caring adults,” said Kristine Gloria, chief operating officer and co-founder of Young Futures, in a press release that accompanied the reports.
AI engagement ranges from skeptics to daily users
The “Youth Mental Health in the AI Era: Why Context Matters More Than Technology” report includes different “personas” for teens and young adults who use GenAI and why, from overall skeptics to those who use GenAI daily and find it useful.
The following chart defines eight different personas of AI use and the percentage of young people who fall into them.
The following data points from the first report highlight how often teens and young adults are using GenAI.
How teens and young adults use AI is just as important as how often
The second report—”Youth Mental Health in the AI Era: How GenAI Enters Help-Seeking Pathways”—focused on a smaller group of individuals who reported having mental health struggles and used AI to tackle them.
“Many young people are turning to general-purpose AI tools to address mental health concerns, especially when they face barriers to care,” said Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, the JED Foundation’s chief medical officer, in the press release. “These systems were not designed for this purpose and often serve as endpoints rather than pathways to support.”
The following chart breaks down—by gender, race, economic status, and other factors—how teens and young adults are using GenAI for mental health support.
The data points below highlight, among those using GenAI and experiencing mental health problems, how they are interacting with the technology and why. For example, teens and young adults who lack parental support have turned to GenAI more than those who have parental support.