Safety advocates have criticized Sam Altman’s OpenAI for stating that teenagers use ChatGPT for an average of less than 15 minutes daily. One of the critics remarked that this data seems unconvincing without external validation.
This figure appeared in OpenAI’s initial report on “ChatGPT for Teens,” a specialized version of its chatbot designed for users aged 13 to 17. The creation of this program was OpenAI’s response to increasing concerns regarding the impact of AI chatbots on young people’s mental and emotional well-being—with some voices in the community correlating chatbot usage to deteriorating academic performance, suicidal ideation, and self-harming behaviors.
OpenAI asserted that their research indicates teens engage with ChatGPT for “under 15 minutes a day,” and noted that fewer than 2% of teen users are logged on for more than three consecutive hours. However, the blog post by the company lacked detailed information on how these data points were acquired or measured.
According to Sebastian Mahal, co-chair of the children’s safety organization Design It For Us, the absence of clarity and independent verification raises significant issues. He referenced the past behavior of Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, which has experienced substantial backlash concerning its teen account functionality on Instagram.
Mahal expressed in a statement that “OpenAI’s assertion of teen safety with its products is just as unreliable without outside verification, especially amidst ongoing lawsuits and increasing scrutiny over potential risks to young users’ mental health.”
He further suggested that if OpenAI is genuinely committed to safeguarding youth, it should champion robust, enforceable laws holding AI companies accountable for their product designs.
An OpenAI representative responded that the company is collaborating with independent researchers to gather information on how teenagers use ChatGPT, with plans to release a more detailed study soon.
The company claimed that a feature prompting teens to take breaks while using ChatGPT has proven effective, noting that nearly half of users followed the reminder to pause or ended their session within five minutes.
ChatGPT for Teens includes parental controls that allow adults to manage what their children can access on the chatbot, including restrictions on sensitive subjects.
Brendan Bouffard, associate general counsel for AI and privacy at nonprofit Fairplay, pointed out that even if OpenAI’s numbers were accurate, it still implies that potentially hundreds of thousands of children could be at risk from using ChatGPT.
A survey from Pew Research published last December showed that around 59% of teens engaged with ChatGPT. Bouffard noted that this means roughly half a million teens might use the chatbot for three hours or more continuously, a statistic that should alarm everyone considering the well-documented dangers associated with AI chatbots for young people.
Additionally, a recent report from Common Sense Media’s Youth AI Safety Institute highlighted that ChatGPT for Teens still presents significant risks to children. Their tests revealed that the chatbot didn’t consistently alert parents when teenagers discussed sensitive issues like suicidal thoughts or disordered eating, and it often failed to provide appropriate crisis hotline information in urgent situations.
Moreover, measures intended to prevent children from using ChatGPT to complete homework were described as “easy to bypass,” with the system sometimes presenting a “Show me the answer” option that could lead to full assignment completions when selected.
OpenAI contested these findings, arguing that Common Sense Media’s assessments did not accurately represent how the adolescent safeguards were functioning.
Regarding the usage statistics promoted by OpenAI, a Youth AI Safety Institute spokesperson noted that even a modest average of 15 minutes can significantly impact a child’s development.
They emphasized that focusing solely on average usage time isn’t the key metric for ensuring kid safety. Insights from social media have shown that more critical data points relate to the heaviest users—specifically the top 10%. That’s where the most potential harm gathers. They expressed a desire for OpenAI to provide greater transparency regarding user distribution and the specific topics children discuss.
With Post wires
