Teens are using AI. Here’s how parents can talk about it.

Life Kit: Parenting

NPR

Kids & Family

4.6 • 640 Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

High school and college students graduating in 2026 will have had access to artificial intelligence models like ChatGPT since their freshman year. Teens are using it in creative ways to help them study, but many have also received little to no guidance on responsible use. In this episode, we discuss how to talk to teens about AI, including its risks and potential benefits for young people.

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Transcript

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0:35.8	You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:41.4	Hey, everybody, it's Mariel.
0:43.9	It has been less than three years since ChatGPT was released,
0:47.9	and now millions of people across the world use it,
0:50.3	and other generative artificial intelligence models like Claude or Google Gemini.
0:55.9	A lot of those people are kids and teens. A Pew Research Center survey from last year found that
1:01.9	about one in four 13 to 17 year olds used chat GPT for schoolwork. And nearly three quarters
1:08.3	of teens surveyed by the nonprofit common sense media, had used an AI companion.
1:13.9	Those are chatbots designed to mimic human relationships.
1:17.5	Both of those surveys, by the way, talked to about a thousand teens.
1:21.2	Education reporter Lee Gaines has been following this.
1:24.2	She's been looking specifically at how AI is changing the way kids and teens learn.
1:28.8	And she's found that a lot of these kids are using AI with little to no guidance from adults.
1:34.4	It's worth noting that students graduating in the class of 2026 will have had access to AI chatbots since their freshman year.
1:41.8	And there's no agreed upon rules for how to use this technology.
	...

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