OpenAI says teens use ChatGPT under 15 minutes a day; Common Sense Media faults safeguards

Mixed · 2OpenAI said teens spend under 15 minutes a day on average on ChatGPT, and that less than 2 per cent of them use the chatbot for more than three straight hours. 1 2 Mixed · 2The company released the figures on Wednesday 7 October in its first report on teen use, as technology firms face scrutiny over the risks AI chatbots pose to children and over their possible effects on adolescent mental health and developmental safety. 1 2 Mixed · 2The coverage places the worries alongside social media: in August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion and to limit teens' use of Facebook and Instagram to settle claims that it designed the platforms to addict children. 1 2

Mixed · 2OpenAI said that in nearly half of teen conversations where a break reminder appeared, the user took a break or ended the chat within five minutes. The report was aiming to show that the company's steps to regulate teen usage were working. 1 2 Mixed · 2It also said users of its dedicated teen version sent more education-related messages and used tools such as learning visualizations and Study Mode. It is looking to add a college application planning tool covering requirements, deadlines and financial-aid steps, plus study features such as flashcards and easier quiz-making. 1 2 Mixed · 2OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT for Teens in August. The mode turns on automatically based on age information or when a user is estimated to be under 18, allowing parental controls and limiting conversations on sensitive topics. 1 2

Mixed · 2On the same day, the non-profit Common Sense Media reported that ChatGPT for Teens often alerted parents late or not at all when teen accounts held conversations about suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. Its study used more than a dozen test accounts and found the chatbot did not reliably suggest a crisis hotline or professional help. 1 2 Mixed · 2An OpenAI spokesperson said the testing does not "accurately reflect" how the teen safeguards work. The company said it can take hours for parent and teen accounts to link and for safety alerts to become active, and the spokesperson suggested the bulk of the testing may have ended before parental controls were fully activated. 1 2 Mixed · 2Common Sense Media replied that some of its test accounts were linked for long enough and some were not, but none produced timely alerts. It said notifications came only for accounts with weeks of sensitive-topic history. 1 2