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Lonely Teens Are Making “Friends” With AI: What the 2025 Evidence Shows

A 2025 Common Sense Media survey found that many U.S. teens have used AI companions, with some turning to them for serious conversations. The evidence shows why these systems can feel like friends—and why human support matters.
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AI companions are already part of many U.S. teenagers’ lives: in a 2025 Common Sense Media survey, 72% of teens ages 13–17 said they had used one at least once, and 52% said they used them regularly. Some teens use them for serious conversations or share private information, but the survey does not show that loneliness causes this behavior—or that AI use causes lasting social or mental-health harm. It does show why these systems can feel like friends, and why they should not be treated as substitutes for trusted people or professional care.

What teens mean when they talk to an AI “friend”

Common Sense Media defines AI companions as “digital friends or characters you can text or talk with whenever you want.” Unlike a search engine that mainly returns information, a companion is designed to sustain a conversation and may adopt a consistent character or conversational style. That availability and the appearance of emotional responsiveness can make the interaction feel personal.

The feeling is real for the user; the relationship is not reciprocal in the human sense. An AI system can imitate caring language, but that does not establish that it understands a teenager’s situation, has human feelings, or can take responsibility for their wellbeing. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made a related point in its September 2025 inquiry announcement: chatbots can mimic human characteristics, emotions, and intentions, and may prompt children and teens to trust them or form relationships with them.

That distinction matters when interpreting the word “friend.” It describes a young person’s experience or the role a system performs, not evidence of mutual human friendship.

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How common is teen use, and what do the numbers mean?

In Common Sense Media’s 2025 survey of U.S. teens ages 13–17, 72% reported having used AI companions at least once, while 52% reported regular use. These are self-reported survey findings for that age group and country—not a measure of clinical dependence, a count of daily users, or a finding about all young people worldwide.

The same survey points to a mix of motivations, including entertainment, curiosity, and social interaction. It does not support reducing teen use to loneliness alone. Nor does the material establish that loneliness causes companion use or that using a companion causes loneliness, a mental-health disorder, or lasting changes in social life.

What teens report sharing and seeking

Some reported uses involve more than casual conversation. Among teen AI companion users in the 2025 Common Sense Media survey, 33% said they had chosen an AI companion instead of a real person for important or serious matters. And 24% said they had shared personal or private information; examples discussed in the survey materials include a real name, location, or personal secrets.

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Those figures describe reported behavior, not proof that every conversation is harmful or that every user shares the same information. They do, however, make privacy and judgment important topics for families: a teenager may experience a conversation as private or confidential even when an AI companion is not a trusted human confidant.

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Do AI companions replace time with real friends?

The survey findings are mixed rather than all-or-nothing. In Common Sense Media’s 2025 U.S. teen survey, 31% of teens said conversations with AI companions were as satisfying as or more satisfying than conversations with real-life friends. At the same time, 80% of teen AI companion users said they spent more time with real friends than with companions.

These responses capture reported satisfaction and time use; they do not establish whether AI use changes friendships over time. The available evidence therefore supports neither a claim that companions have replaced human relationships for teens generally nor a guarantee that they never displace them for individual users.

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What the safety evaluations do—and do not—show

Different kinds of evidence address different questions. Survey responses describe what teens say they do; evaluator assessments report findings from testing; and a regulator’s inquiry requests information from companies. These should not be collapsed into one risk statistic.

Evidence What it reports What it does not establish
Common Sense Media’s 2025 survey of U.S. teens ages 13–17 Self-reported use, motivations, satisfaction, time with friends, serious conversations, and sharing of personal information. Clinical dependence, cause and effect, or long-term outcomes for teens.
Common Sense Media Youth AI Safety Institute’s social-companion assessment, updated July 16, 2025 The institute rated social AI companions an “Unacceptable Risk” for children and teens under 18. A government-wide classification or a law applying that rating to every product.
Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine Brainstorm Lab assessment, published November 2025 Testing of general-purpose chatbots in mental-health conversations found that they could miss warning signs and that safeguards weakened during extended conversations. A finding that every chatbot or every conversation fails in the same way, or a clinical trial of the effects on teens.
FTC announcement, September 2025 An information-gathering inquiry into seven consumer-facing chatbot companies, including questions about testing, child safety, age restrictions, disclosures, monetization, and conversation data. A completed investigation, a finding of liability, or proof that a company violated the law.

The institute’s “Unacceptable Risk” rating is its own assessment, not a legal ban or an official government-wide determination. The FTC action is likewise an inquiry seeking information, not a conclusion about unlawful conduct.

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Why mental-health conversations deserve special caution

General-purpose chatbots can sound supportive without reliably recognizing when a conversation signals serious distress. In its November 2025 assessment, Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine’s Brainstorm Lab reported that tested chatbots could miss mental-health warning signs and that safeguards weakened in extended conversations. The assessors recommended that teens not use AI chatbots for mental-health support without significant product modifications.

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This is a narrower claim than saying all AI conversation is unsafe: the assessment concerns mental-health support, a high-stakes use where missing a warning sign can matter. A chatbot’s reassuring tone is not evidence that it can assess risk, provide clinical care, or respond appropriately in a crisis. For mental-health concerns, a trusted adult and qualified human professional are the appropriate supports. Dr. Nina Vasan, founder and director of Stanford Medicine’s Brainstorm Lab, warned that “The chatbot becomes a substitute for—rather than a bridge to—real-world support networks and professional care.”

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How parents and educators can respond

Common Sense Media recommends judgment-free conversations with young people, healthy boundaries, and educator-led AI literacy. Its later mental-health assessment also emphasizes trusted adults and access to real mental-health resources. These are practical recommendations, not interventions shown by the cited sources to guarantee a particular outcome.

Ask what the teen gets from the interaction

Start with curiosity rather than accusation. Ask what they use the companion for, what feels appealing about it, and whether they have ever turned to it instead of a person for something important. The aim is to understand the role the system plays before setting limits.

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Discuss privacy and the limits of the relationship

Talk plainly about what counts as personal information and why a conversational system should not be assumed to offer the same confidentiality or judgment as a trusted person. Explain that convincing, caring-sounding responses are generated by a system that can imitate human qualities; they do not prove human understanding or reciprocal care.

Agree on boundaries and human support

Families can decide together when, where, and for what purposes AI companions are acceptable, while keeping real people involved in serious decisions and emotional support. If a teen raises a mental-health concern, help them reach a trusted adult or qualified professional rather than relying on a chatbot’s response.

Teach students to question the interaction

Educators can help students distinguish a conversational simulation from a human relationship, think critically about advice, and recognize that a system may not notice when a situation is serious. Common Sense Media also calls for stronger age assurance and safeguards from platforms and policymakers; that is a recommendation for those responsible for products and policy, not a task families can solve alone.

What remains unknown

The cited 2025 sources do not establish why an individual teen uses an AI companion, whether loneliness predicts use, or what long-term effects the use may have on social relationships or mental health. They also do not provide a prevalence estimate for adolescent loneliness. Those questions require evidence beyond the survey responses and assessments described here.

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