Artificial intelligence has long been a part of children and adolescents’ daily lives and is becoming an increasingly integral part of the digital world. A recent study conducted by DAK-Gesundheit in collaboration with the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf shows that programs such as ChatGPT and Gemini are already in regular use. A significant proportion of respondents use such applications several times a week, and a smaller number still use relevant applications daily.
Its use is not limited to traditional information retrieval or academic support. In fact, AI chatbots are increasingly taking on social functions as well. Some children report confiding personal thoughts and problems on these applications. I would otherwise only share these things with close friends. This development suggests that AI systems could act as a kind of digital sounding board in certain situations, which could pose both opportunities and risks.
At the same time, overall media usage remains at a high level. Particularly noticeable is the strong trend toward online video on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. Mechanisms like infinite scrolling and autoplay encourage intensive usage, which is also reflected in daily screen time. On average, children spend several hours on digital media during the week. On weekends, this time increases significantly.
Although there has been a slight decrease compared to the previous year, the number of children engaging in problematic behavior is still high. A significant proportion exhibit dangerous or pathological patterns of use, which can involve loss of control and neglect of other areas of life. By estimation, this affects more than 1 million children and adolescents in Germany.
These results demonstrate that the digital media landscape continues to change and expand for young users. While traditional social networks and video platforms continue to dominate, AI applications are becoming increasingly important, influencing not only learning behavior but also social interactions.
conclusion
This study clearly shows that AI applications are on the rise among children and adolescents and are already playing an important role in their daily lives. In addition to their benefits as learning aids, the continued high levels of emotional attachment to chatbots in particular and overall media usage pose new challenges. As a result, the issue of responsible use of AI and digital content has become more of a focus for parents, educational institutions, and policy makers than ever before. But are they just now realizing this?
