Org Report

How Teens Use and View AI

Feb 2026 🇺🇸 Pew Research Center Ages 13–17

This Pew Research Center report, published February 2026, examines how U.S. teens ages 13–17 use artificial intelligence tools and what they think about them — including where teens turn to AI for help with schoolwork, how much they trust AI-generated answers, and how comfortable they are questioning or verifying what AI tells them. The survey finds that many teens use AI regularly but that comfort verifying AI outputs and awareness of AI's limitations vary widely. Pew reports these as self-reported attitudes and usage patterns, not as a measure of accuracy or harm. TechKids Foundation cites this report to describe a gap between how often teens use AI and how equipped they feel to question it — the gap our AI-literacy curriculum modules on verification, bias, privacy, and responsible use are designed to close.

Regular AI use, mixed verification habits

Many teens report using AI tools regularly; comfort verifying AI-generated answers varies widely across respondents.

Schoolwork use

The survey documents teens turning to AI tools for help with schoolwork among other everyday uses.

VIEW SOURCE →
CITATION

Pew Research Center: How Teens Use and View AI, February 2026. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/02/24/how-teens-use-and-view-ai/

REPORT A PROBLEM WITH THIS ENTRY

RELATED EVIDENCE

Government Report

More Than Half of Public School Leaders Say Cell Phones Hurt Academic Performance

This National Center for Education Statistics (NCES/IES) press release reports findings from a national survey of U.S. public school leaders about cell phones in schools. More than half of surveyed school leaders say cell phone use by students hurts academic performance, and the same survey finds that fewer than half of public schools currently teach students about artificial intelligence, with only a minority having a written policy governing student AI use. NCES presents these as school-leader-reported survey findings, describing perceptions and existing school policy, not a controlled study of cause and effect. TechKids Foundation cites this survey to describe a policy and instruction gap — schools recognizing a problem with unmanaged device use while AI-literacy instruction and clear policy both lag behind — that after-school creator programs like TechKids Labs are positioned to help fill.

Feb 2025 🇺🇸 NCES
Org Report

Teens, Social Media and AI Chatbots 2025

This Pew Research Center report surveys U.S. teens ages 13–17 about their social media habits and their use of AI chatbots, tracking how quickly AI tools have entered teenagers' daily lives alongside existing social media use. The report finds that a majority of teens now report having used AI chatbots, with a notable share using them on a daily basis, while also documenting continued heavy use of social media platforms among the same age group. Pew presents these as self-reported survey findings describing current teen technology habits, not as an assessment of health effects. TechKids Foundation cites this report to describe how quickly AI chatbots have become part of teenagers' everyday technology use, often layered on top of already-heavy social media habits, underscoring the need for AI literacy alongside the mentoring and creation TechKids programs provide.

Dec 2025 🇺🇸 Pew Research Center
STAY CURRENT

Get new evidence in your inbox.

A weekly digest of what we added — studies, laws, films, hearings. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

SUBSCRIPTIONS PENDING — BUTTONDOWN ACCOUNT NOT CONNECTED

OR FOLLOW THE RSS FEED →