New poll shows 30% of US teens interact with chatbots every day

[Alfonso Maruccia]

In brief: In just a few years, chatbot and generative AI services have surged in popularity. A new study shows that these tools are particularly attractive to younger users, highlighting a generational shift in how people interact with technology online.

Despite concerns surrounding the growing AI bubble, chatbots and other AI services continue to gain popularity. A recent Pew Research Center poll of US teens confirms earlier findings: young users frequently engage with AI products for both educational and personal purposes.

The survey asked 1,458 teens aged 13 to 17 about their online activities and preferred services. Pew found that roughly two-thirds of teens, or 64 percent, have used an AI chatbot at least once, while 36 percent have never tried one. About 28 percent use a chatbot daily, including 12 percent who use it several times per day and four percent who use it almost constantly.

Pew Research also shared data on the popularity of specific chatbot services. Among US teens, 59 percent primarily use OpenAI's ChatGPT, far outpacing Google's Gemini at 23 percent and Meta AI at 20 percent. Only 14 percent use Copilot, raising questions about the effectiveness of Microsoft's push to make its software business more agent-driven.

Chatbots and AI technology are growing in popularity, but US teens spend time on many other online activities. YouTube remains the most popular platform, used by 92 percent of younger users. TikTok follows with 68 percent, Instagram with 63 percent, and Snapchat with 55 percent.

The survey also confirms that more traditional social networks and communication platforms are losing ground among teens. Only 31 percent of respondents use Facebook, and 24 percent use WhatsApp. Reddit, often called the "front page of the internet," is used by just 17 percent of teens, while the network formerly known as Twitter is now nearly dead among this age group, with only 16 percent using it.

Pew Research's data provides a snapshot of chatbots' popularity among young users, who clearly appreciate the technology's willingness to respond to any request. OpenAI and other AI companies are facing a lawsuit alleging that they encouraged harmful behavior among teens, bringing the platforms under significant scrutiny.

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New poll shows 30% of US teens interact with chatbots every day

 

[brucek]

Of course they are. I can't imagine being in school and not using AI to enhance the study / learning process. Being able to get your questions answered on the spot is so much better than having lost the plot on page 100 and still needing to get through 20 more pages all built on the earlier topic the textbook didn't explain well enough for your learning style.

 

[havok585]

New poll shows that US kids are wasting time with hot air.

 

[yRaz]

Of course they are. I can't imagine being in school and not using AI to enhance the study / learning process. Being able to get your questions answered on the spot is so much better than having lost the plot on page 100 and still needing to get through 20 more pages all built on the earlier topic the textbook didn't explain well enough for your learning style.

I see this as a different version of something I had to do in school. Sometimes I will read a sentence and the concept won't immediately (or at all) be apparent to me so I will ask someone else to explain it differently and sometimes I had to listen or read a few different explanations of a concept before one stuck. They're mostly just using an AI instead of asking another student or coworker to explain something.

I remember one class I struggled with where the professor would just paraphrase the book and tell us a concept existed instead of explaining what the concept means, its implications and how it is used. This is the main reason I still struggle with partial differential equations almost 20 years later.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Not surprising at all. Talking with real people carries more risk then ever. Say the wrong thing, offend the wrong person, and your life will be made a living hell until the next drama rolls in. And honestly....how many people around you are capable of having intelligent discussion if you are Gen Alpha? Most of those your age have terminal brain rot and will respond with "67 skibidi frfr no cappin".

And its not like their Millennial parents are any better, just replace the rot with MillenialCore "The hekkin doggos!" cringe.

The chat bots must be like speaking to Nostradamus by comparison.

 

[human7]

I remember one class I struggled with where the professor would just paraphrase the book and tell us a concept existed instead of explaining what the concept means, its implications and how it is used. This is the main reason I still struggle with partial differential equations almost 20 years later.

Not a very good teacher if all they do is paraphrase, that tells me that they didn't understand the material either.

I struggle with PDEs (and many other math problems) ~8 years after my classes because I haven't solved any and I forgot how to.

 

[yRaz]

Not a very good teacher if all they do is paraphrase, that tells me that they didn't understand the material either.

I struggle with PDEs (and many other math problems) ~8 years after my classes because I haven't solved any and I forgot how to.

Luckily for me it's mostly for just crap I do in my homelab. I see some cool project, think "I want to do that" and see that it uses a whole bunch of high-level math stuff that I barely passed with a D in. I'll watch a few YouTube videos to get a barely functioning grasp of what I'm working on does, try to make it work with a success rate lower than I'm comfortable sharing and then shortly forget everything I tired to relearn in the previous few days/week.

It's probably 3 or 4 times a year I go from "that's cool!" To "oh, great, I have to spend the next week decoding an alien language.' I still think it's impossible that some kids could hear the samething I did and "just get it" when all I heard was the teacher from Charlie Brown talking.

 

[Win7user]

You're speaking about the brain-dead people.