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Common Sense and JED surveys find most US teens use AI chatbots, and use in distress tracks worse mental health

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Source: Common Sense MediaAlso reported by The Jed Foundation, NPR Illinois

Two US surveys published on 27 October measure children’s use of AI chatbots. Common Sense Media’s 2026 Census, a nationally representative survey of 1,211 people aged 9 to 17, found that 36% of 9-year-olds, 55% of 11-year-olds and 73% of 13-year-olds have used an AI chatbot or companion, although the most popular chatbots require users to be 13; 65% of all respondents and 77% of teens have used AI in their free time. The Jed Foundation surveyed 5,560 middle and high school students in 21 US schools between October 2025 and April 2026. It found that students who use AI while emotionally struggling report worse mental health and well-being and a greater history of suicidal thoughts and attempts. JED says its data are cross-sectional and not nationally representative, so they do not show whether AI use causes the harm.

Why it matters

Common Sense finds that chatbots’ minimum age of 13 does little to keep younger children out, and JED’s findings add to the case regulators are weighing on chatbots and young people.

When
27 Oct 2026
ID
WTA-N-2026-0586
Who
Common Sense Media, The Jed Foundation; Supreet Mann

Summary written with AI by wheresthe.ai, from Common Sense Media and the reporting credited above. Checked against the source on 31 Oct 2026.

Read the original at Common Sense Media

Source copy: saved on 31 Oct 2026 to check this story and not republished, because the text belongs to its publisher. Also held by the Internet Archive.

Next stop on this Storyline: What happened nextNew York law bars AI companion features for minors and requires age checks from 1 January 2027

Cite this story

WTA-N-2026-0586: “Common Sense and JED surveys find most US teens use AI chatbots, and use in distress tracks worse mental health.” wheresthe.ai, 27 Oct 2026. https://wheresthe.ai/d/us-common-sense-and-jed-surveys-find-most-tweens-and-teens-use-ai-2026-10/ (source: Common Sense Media).

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