Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, teens are turning to AI tools, and parents/caregivers need to understand how they’re being used so they can help navigate. We’ve seen AI used in some beneficial ways – to access support anonymously, detect early signs of distress, and via mobile apps that provide evidence-based coping techniques. But the adolescent brain isn’t yet fully developed; teens are more susceptible to the negative impacts of these programs and often lack the ability to objectively evaluate such platforms. These include: social withdrawal, emotional dependency, misinformation, a distorted sense of reality and reinforcement of negative thought patterns, cyberbullying, unrealistic body image standards, and privacy risks. And missing from all of this is human empathy.
Practical guidance for opening a healthy dialogue
It is recommended that parents and caregivers find opportunities to openly communicate with teens about all topics, including AI. This could be while you’re in the car driving to or from an activity, or in the evening when the daily rush is winding down.
Helping teenagers understand the benefits and limitations – what it is and what it is not, is very important. It cannot replace human interaction, and with any AI companion, boundaries need to be set. It is also crucial that adolescents understand how
to use AI responsibly while assisting youngsters in learning how to take the perspective of others (AI often limits this), be empathic, and have self-awareness.
If you notice behavioral changes in your child such as depression, withdrawal, suicidal thoughts, anxiety and/or persistent negative mood, it needs to be addressed by a licensed mental health professional. AI is not a substitute for professional help.
The double-edged nature of AI: its potential to enhance care and learning, and its risks when unregulated tools target vulnerable teens.
AI, when used in conjunction with educational, parental, and professional mental health oversight and partnership, may be another resource to aid teens with learning as well as with mental health. When AI use is unsupervised and/or unregulated, there is a great
risk of biased, harmful information being presented to vulnerable teens. Recently, there has been a call to action for major legislative reform to address these issues after parents sued AI companies and testified to Congress about the dangers of AI following the death of their adolescent children by suicide after engagement with AI.
For further reading, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued an APA Health Advisory, Artificial Intelligence and Adolescent Well-being, June 2025.
