As parents, especially when our children enter the tween or teen years, I think we all worry about technology and its role in our children’s lives, as well as the issues they may encounter through it.
How much time they spend on screens, what they are watching, what their friends are watching, what it teaches them, what they are missing out on because of all the time they spend behind a screen – these are all worries we all share, I think.
And for good reason, no doubt. Tweens and teens in 2025 are interacting with technology in an unprecedented way, and it is shaping who they are and what their lives will look like.
For instance, in disturbing news that sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, experts warn teens are now using AI chatbots as digital ‘boyfriends’ or ‘girlfriends’ and are even sexting with the bots.
Even more worryingly, any restrictions designed to prevent such incidents from happening are not working as effectively as they should, experts warn.
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According to The Washington Post, teenagers are having conversations that are both romantic, as well as sexually graphic and even violent with “AI companion” tools like Character.AI, Replika, Talkie, and PolyBuzz. Note: General generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Meta AI have also launched companion chat tools.
Speaking to the newspaper, New York dad Damian Redman reveals he found these apps installed on his tween’s phone, and discovered that his son was having flirty conversations with AI female anime characters.
And Redman is not alone.
‘It’s creepy’
Taking to Reddit recently, one concerned parent shared that they had blocked one AI chatbot from their 14-year-old’s phone, but later found they were on another AI chatbot service now.
‘I hate to think my child’s first romantic (and sexual) interactions are with bots,’ the parent wrote on the Parenting subreddit.
‘It’s just creepy. Am I the only parent having this problem? Thoughts?’
Other Reddit users suggested having a more open conversation with teenagers about this matter might help, but not everyone agreed this would help. One person wrote:
‘We have had conversations with our teenage son for YEARS. We’ve used multiple parental control apps. All for nothing. He still finds ways to access what he wants. We’re decently tech-savvy, but so is he. And the reality is there’s no good way to completely prevent a singularly-minded hormonal teenager from achieving his/her goal.’
Teenagers are exploring relationships with chatbots
Robbie Torney, a senior director of AI programs at family advocacy group Common Sense Media, also spoke to The Washington Post:
‘We’re seeing teens experiment with different types of relationships. The sex is part of it, but it’s not the only part of it.’
Earlier this year, Common Sense Media launched an AI Risk Assessment Team to assess AI platforms to report on the likelihood of causing harm. And it is important to stress that all parents should know that social AI companions like Character.AI, Nomi, and Replika were all ranked ‘unacceptable for teen users’, as teens were using these platforms to bond emotionally and engage in sexual conversations.
And according to the organisation, this research found that the chatbots could generate “harmful responses including sexual misconduct, stereotypes, and dangerous ‘advice’ that, if followed, could have life-threatening or deadly real-world impact for teens.’
In fact, the experts at the organisation recommend that teenagers should have no social AI companions, and that these should not be allowed for anyone under the age of 18.
They also recommend further research and regulations on AI companions due to the emotional and psychological impacts they can cause teens, whose brains are still developing.
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