A fresh wave of anxiety about children and technology is cresting, with parents and pundits increasingly interrogating how kids use smartphones, social media, and screens. It hasn't stopped teenagers from embracing generative AI. New research reveals what AI tools teenagers in the United States are using, and how often--as well as how little their parents know about it. Seven in 10 teenagers in the United States have used generative AI tools, according to a report published today by Common Sense Media. The nonprofit analyzed survey answers from US parents and high schoolers between March and May 2024 to assess the scale and contours of AI adoption among teenagers.

Parenting in 2023 requires talking with your kids not just about the hazards of the internet and social media but also the artificial intelligence spreading rapidly into just about every app or online service. Common Sense Media, the nonprofit that rates movies and other media for parents, is trying to help families adapt to the age of AI. Today it launched its first analysis and ratings for AI tools, including OpenAI's ChatGPT and Snapchat's My AI chatbot. My AI received one of the lowest scores among the 10 systems covered in Common Sense's report, which warns that the chatbot is willing to chat with teen users about sex and alcohol and that it misrepresented Snap's targeted advertising. Common Sense concludes there are "more downsides to My AI than benefits."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed an executive order directing state agencies to examine the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content. The executive order sets the stage for potential regulation around what's known as generative AI technology, which has already raised concerns about misinformation, plagiarism, bias and child safety. The governor and California lawmakers thus far have been cautious about regulating technology they might not fully understand and hindering business innovations that fuel the state's economy. "We recognize both the potential benefits and risks these tools enable. We're neither frozen by the fears nor hypnotized by the upside," Newsom said in a statement.

You're cool chatting up Amazon Alexa, the Google Assistant and Siri and having each come alive when you utter the "Alexa," "Hey, Google" or "Hey, Siri" wake words. But your kids are also engaging with the popular digital voices inside the smart speakers in your home and your big concern has mostly to do with privacy. Amazon and Google really cornered the smart speaker market. That's the chief takeaway from a new study, exclusive to USA TODAY and conducted in February, by Common Sense Media and SurveyMonkey Audience. Robocall crackdown: FTC continues robocall crackdown, stops groups responsible for'billions' of calls More than 4 in 10 of the 1,127 parents of children ages 2 to 8 who participated in the survey say their family uses a smart speaker such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home.

USA TODAY consumer editor Michelle Maltais and Common Sense Media executive editor Sierra Filucci share ways to manage your household's attachment to media and electronic devices. How young is too young to let your kid play "Fortnite"? It's a question parents have been asking of themselves and their friends. Assuming they're cool in the first place with letting their kid participate in a third-person shooter game that's played by more than 200 million people globally, not all of them, of course, of school age. You certainly can't blame those parents who deem "Fornite" a menace.

Apple Inc. AAPL 0.59% on Monday unveiled new controls to help people curb the amount of time they spend on iPhones and iPads, as well as allow parents to remotely track and limit their children's use of those devices--a response to growing societal concern that adults and children are too focused on phones. The company said a new app it will release in September called "Screen Time" will provide users with weekly reports of the apps they use and allow them to set time limits for their use of those apps. Parents will be able to use the system to remotely monitor the apps their children use and limit their time on devices. The new features played a central role at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, a gathering of about 6,000 developers who create the apps for the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. The event is designed to show off Apple's latest software--including the newest features to further integrate into people's digital lives.

Blaming violence on video games over-simplifies a deeply complicated issue. If you're wondering whether the video game your child is playing is appropriate, there's a long-standing rating system in place to guide you. But that system, established in 1994 after Senate hearings into violence in video games, is "good but not perfect," says Jeff Haynes, senior editor for video games at Common Sense Media, a non-profit group that curates its own library of ratings and reviews of games, movies apps, TV shows and other content. What that means is parents need to be especially vigilant when it comes to assessing whether the games their children play are appropriate. "The biggest thing we constantly try to push is know your kids and know the content your kids are playing and get involved with what your kids are interested in," Haynes says.

In Yana Welinder's house, her son will say "Papa' to either her or her husband. But her child, who just turned 1, does have a name for another prominent figure in the household: "Aga." Or, as the rest of us know her, Alexa -- Amazon's voice assistant. Welinder's son can't summon the assistant from the Echo speaker in their San Francisco home on his own. But he knows what he's trying to do.

In Yana Welinder's house, her son will say "Papa!' to either her or her husband. But her son, who just turned 1, does have a name for another prominent figure in the household: "Aga!" Or, as the rest of us know her, Alexa -- Amazon's voice assistant. Welinder's son can't summon the assistant from the Echo speaker in their home on his own. But he knows what he's trying to do. "He says it and he looks at her, and he expects her to respond," Welinder said.

Children who spend too much time watching television and playing video games may be damaging more than just their physical health. According to new research, it could also lead to lower grades in maths and English. A small study by a group of psychologists has found those who spent more time splitting their attention between various devices achieved lower test scores than those who did not. While constant switching attention between devices may be a growing trend, its affect on school performance and personality has not been well studied. Researchers at the University of Toronto looked at the effect of juggling multiple devices, such as watching television on while texting, on students' cognition, performance at school and personality.