Recent Study Shares AI use in Adolescents

AI is a commonly discussed topic at present as it weaves its way into every aspect of society. As mentioned in an earlier article, we are finalising our policy and direction of AI, with the help of Pope Leo's recent encyclical on the concept of AI. At the heart of everything that we do as a Catholic school, we want to honour the dignity of all of our community. Therefore, we are considering carefully how we will educate our community in the use of AI.

Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute have just released a national study titled The Common Sense Media Census: AI Use by Tweens and Teens, 2026. Based on a survey of 1,204 children aged 9 to 17 in the United States, the report provides a vital foundation for understanding how kids interact with AI and it highlights the urgent need for thoughtful guidance from adults.

Here are the key statistics that we asked AI to provide from the study to help us understand your child's digital footprint and how we can work together to ensure they use AI safely and responsibly. As a school, we will digest these statistics to help plan our next steps.

1. AI Use Is Nearly Universal

• Widespread Adoption: 86% of kids aged 9 to 17 now use or interact with AI in some form.

• Starting Very Young: AI is not exclusive to older teenagers; 81% of tweens aged 9 to 12 have already interacted with AI tools.

• Daily Habits: Nearly one in four kids (24%) use AI on a daily basis, a rate that reaches 29% among teenagers aged 13 to 17.

2. Homework and Entertainment Drive Use

• Top Activities: Among youth who use AI, 89% use it for fun or entertainment , while 85% turn to it for help with schoolwork or homework.

• Frequent School Support: Close to half of these students (48%) use AI for schoolwork at least once a week , and 21% use it for homework every single day.

• Creative Outlets: 75% of kids use AI tools to create things like images, videos, stories, or music.

3. Surprising Signs of AI Dependency

• Difficulty Unplugging: Twenty percent of all kids who use AI say it would be very or somewhat hard to go without it for a month, a number that climbs to 42% among daily users.

• Impact on School Skills: Among students who use AI for homework help, 16% report having difficulty starting or completing their assignments when they cannot access AI tools.

• Focus Struggles: Students who have a hard time staying focused on school assignments use AI for schoolwork more frequently, with 56% using it weekly compared to 45% of their peers who do not struggle with focus.

4. Safety Risks and Inappropriate Content

• Unsuitable Encounters: Among youth who use AI chatbots, 17% (about 1 in 6) report that a chatbot has said or shown them something they felt wasn't OK or wasn't meant for someone their age.

• The Silence Barrier: More importantly, when these inappropriate interactions happen, 53% of kids do not tell a trusted adult , while only 33% report the issue to a parent or teacher.

5. The Critical Conversation Gap

• Missing Talks at Home: Despite how common AI use is, 44% of kids state that a parent or guardian has never talked with them about how to use AI safely. Even among daily AI users, more than a third (34%) have never had an AI safety conversation at home.

• School Policies vs. Trust Literacy: While 73% of kids report that their school or a teacher has communicated rules about what AI should or should not be used for in schoolwork , far fewer have heard discussions on how to use AI safely (56%) or how to evaluate whether information from AI is accurate and trustworthy (51%).

Bridging the Gap: What We Can Do Together

The study highlights a significant reality: children are quick to embrace AI, but they are often navigating its risks without a safety net or adult guidance. Heavier use of these tools has also shown worrying associations with feelings of loneliness and lower life satisfaction, meaning our children need our presence in their digital worlds more than ever.

As a school, we are continually working to communicate clear expectations regarding AI policies in schoolwork and build digital literacy. However, we appreciate the help that you can provide at home to support what we are doing at school.

We encourage you to open a regular, supportive conversation with your child about AI. Ask them what tools they enjoy using—ChatGPT is currently the most popular, used most often by 40% of kids —and explore those tools together. Remind them that AI tools can sometimes generate inaccurate information and that any information they are entering is not private. All that they use AI for is training the generative AI model and leaving a permanent digital footprint. IF they are logged into their school account and using Gemini (R13), then there is more privacy with what they are using AI for.

Please always stay curious when asking questions and reassure them that they can always come to you if an online tool says or shows them something uncomfortable. By staying informed and engaged, we can protect our children from potential harms while helping them safely benefit from what technology has to offer.