Middle Schoolers Turn to AI Companions, Study Reveals
New study shows middle schoolers turning to AI for emotional support, raising concerns about loneliness and social skills.
POLICY WIRE — City, Country — A growing number of middle school students are turning to artificial intelligence chatbots for emotional support, according to a new study that has sparked concern over the long-term effects on their social development.
The research, conducted by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers, involved over 2,300 students in grades six through eight across 22 middle schools in a large southeastern state. The findings revealed that as many as one in five students use AI tools for emotionally intimate interactions, which correlates with higher reports of loneliness.
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One of the study’s authors, Mitch Prinstein, noted that two to four students in each classroom now prefer interacting with chatbots over human peers. He described this trend as an “existential concern” for the current generation. Meanwhile, concerns about AI’s impact on youth have intensified after several families claimed their children formed close relationships with AI companions before taking their own lives.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
