Majority of teens and tweens now use chat bots, new research finds

Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Safety Net Look Up Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Mashable @Home In My Bag Versus Trending Now Say More Creator Playbook Mashable Selects Getting Technical with Mashable All Series According to two new surveys, AI chat bots are a normal part of life for young Americans, whether for homework help or emotional support. An alarming new survey from media and tech non-profit Common Sense Media has found that children begin interacting with AI chatbots at an alarmingly early age -- with nearly half of 9-12-year-olds having bypassed the 13+ age restriction common to most LLMs. The survey is titled The 2026 Common Sense Media Census: Tech and Media Use by Tweens and Teens . In the paper, the organization conducted interviews with more than 1,200 American children aged 9 to 17, asking questions about AI use as well as television, gaming, and social media habits. More importantly, the interviews asked these young children how they feel about their own media consumption habits.