Study warns chatbots pose mental health risk to teens
By Stephen Beech
Chatbots pose a risk to teenagers' mental health, warns new research.
AI companionship does have the potential to benefit relational and emotional development - but lacks vital safeguards, say scientists.
As teenagers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence chatbots for advice about friendships, family conflicts and romantic ties, researchers have raised concerns that the new technology could disturb how young people learn to navigate human relationships.
AI-powered conversational tools - such as ChatGPT, Replika, Claude and Character.AI - are becoming a common source of emotional support for teenagers.
Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) said that, on the positive side, the technology offers immediate, non-judgmental guidance and has potential to benefit emotional development.
But without safeguards and careful design, the research team warned that reliance on the systems may bypass opportunities for youngsters to develop key relationship skills through person-to-person interactions.
Study lead author Thao Ha said: "The technologies are developing super-fast, faster than we can keep up with as scientists, faster than governance and policy can keep up with."
Students who met with the research team described how they and their peers often use AI to seek advice about personal and often sensitive relationship challenges.
Ortega, a high school senior, said: "I don't think I really expected for so many teens to have the same concerns or thoughts when it came to AI.
"We all mostly had concerns about how AI was replacing actual human connection and how it limits a lot of those needs that humans have that cannot be replaced with a computer artificial intelligence."
Ha said adolescence is a crucial period for learning skills such as emotional regulation, conflict resolution, perspective-taking and boundary-setting.
She says those skills are typically developed through emotionally charged interactions with peers, romantic partners and family members.
Ha said: "People don't realize that relational learning happens during the teenage years and that these moments of social connection are little building blocks that become bigger things that will benefit you throughout life.
"You really need those building blocks, so you actually learn the skills that you need to thrive in your relationships."
The researchers said survey data shows that AI use among teenagers is widespread.
One study suggested that almost two-thirds of American adolescents (64%) use interactional AI, while another found that 42% have used AI chatbots for friendship-related purposes and 19% for romantic relationships.
Teenagers told the ASU research team that current approaches to regulating AI - such as age verification - are ineffective and do not reflect their needs.
Others described how AI use is becoming difficult to avoid, with one teen explaining that "there is almost no way not to use it anymore", limiting the ability to use it intentionally.
The team highlighted two significant risks in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
The first - what they call "relational displacement" - occurs when adolescents substitute AI interactions for conversations with other people.
The researchers say that avoiding difficult discussions with friends, family members or romantic partners may limit opportunities to develop relationship skills that help protect against depression, anxiety and loneliness.
Young participants cited examples ranging from seeking chatbot validation after arguments with partners to using AI for homework help instead of reaching out to classmates, potentially reducing everyday opportunities for social connection.
The second concern - termed "maladaptive relational learning" - involves teenagers developing unrealistic expectations about human relationships.
Because AI systems often provide immediate responses and consistent validation, the research team say it may reinforce youngsters' unhealthy, fixed ideas about relationships and at the same time young users may come to expect similar behavior from friends and romantic partners,
Over time, that could reinforce unhealthy relationship patterns and increase vulnerability to rejection, dating violence and mental health problems.
Ortega said: "With artificial intelligence, it's programmed to like you and it knows what to say to satisfy what you're feeding it.
"If you're given full satisfaction on everything, you don't have learning experience with challenges or obstacles."
Ha is now leading a major study to understand more fully how digital technologies are reshaping young minds.
The researchers are recruiting 300 teenagers and their romantic partners to follow over 18 months to understand when, how, and in which contexts digital interactions benefit or harm their relationships, mental health, and academic achievement.
Shared data from the participants' mobile devices will give the researchers real-time digital interactions to analyze and gain insights into the role of technology in teen relationships and mental health.
Ha and her colleagues acknowledged that AI can provide meaningful benefits.
One teenager told the research team: "AI is cheaper than a therapist, it makes information more accessible and readily available for those who may not seek support."
When designed with developmental considerations, the researchers say AI could "scaffold" self-reflection and redirect adolescents toward human engagement rather than substitution.
Rather than discouraging AI use altogether, the ASU team called for more research into how interactions with AI affect adolescent development over time.
The researchers also urged schools, communities and policymakers to invest in relationship education, counseling services and opportunities for young people to discuss relationships openly.
Ha added: "Supporting adolescent mental health will require ensuring that AI systems are used in ways that support relational learning, while also protecting the real-world experiences through which young people learn to love and care for others."
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