About 42% of teenagers in Italy turn to Artificial Intelligence or AI to ask for help when they are sad, feel anxious, or for help making important life decisions, according to a new survey* by Save the Children.
The survey of 800 teenagers aged 15 to 19 was conducted by market research firm CSA Research as part of Save the Children Italy’s 16th annual ‘Atlas of Childhood at Risk’ publication which each year focuses on a different topic related to the risks faced by children.
This year’s report, “Without Filters: Voices of Adolescents”, highlighted the relationship that Italian teenagers have with AI with 30% of teenagers surveyed saying they use AI daily.
The survey found 41.8% of the adolescents interviewed said they turn to AI when they feel sad or anxious while a similar percentage - 42% - turn to AI for advice when they need to make important decisions related to relationships, their emotions or school and/or work.
The participants said the tools they use the most include ChatGPT by OpenAI, Claude by Anthropic and Dixit – used by about 69% of those surveyed - followed by translation tools at 42.5% and voice assistance tools at 33.3%.
When asked what they liked most about the AI tools that they use, about 28.8% of teenagers said they appreciated the fact that AI bots and tools are “always available” while 12.4% said “AI doesn’t judge me”.
According to a separate European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) survey that Save the Children analysed in the Atlas, the line between the online and real worlds lived by teenagers is often blurred.
About 38% of adolescents in Italy out of a total of about 12,0001 teenagers surveyed said they often look at their phones while around friends or relatives – a phenomenon also known as “phubbing” or ignoring someone in a social setting to focus on your phone which is a portmanteau of "phone" and "snubbing"2
More than one quarter of the teenagers surveyed, or 27%, said they feel nervous when they don’t have their phones with them.
However real life friendships and relationships remain important to teenagers with eight of 10 respondents saying they feel satisfied (40%) or very satisfied (42%) with their real world friendships, while 80% felt satisfied or very satisfied with their relationship with their parents.
Meanwhile, almost one in 5 teenagers - or 18.1% - nationally do no sports and are largely sedentary, accordingly to the National Statistic Office.
Raffaela Milano, Director of Save the Children Italy Research, said:
“As our survey shows, Artificial Intelligence has now entered the daily lives of adolescents, playing a worrying role in emotional comfort in some cases. Intergenerational dialogue is urgently needed to fully understand the risks and opportunities of this change and to redesign educational pathways, responsibilities, and to define appropriate regulatory policies.
“The voices of adolescents collected in the Atlas reveal concrete needs that need to be addressed. We must promote psychological well-being and strengthen the network of mental health services for children and adolescents throughout the country. Schools must also ensure psychological well-being and provide education about how relationships work. At the same time, we call upon national and local institutions to create and support self-managed spaces for young people to meet, engage in artistic and cultural production, and engage in sports.”
This year’s Atlas of Childhood at Risk will be officially launched on 19 November in Rome at Save the Children Italy’s headquarters with representatives from Italy’s Ministry of Labour and by Daniella Fatarella, CEO of Save the Children Italy.
Save the Children works with children and adolescents in Italy through various programmes including in its 27 Punto Luce centres across 15 regions of the country. Save the Children works with a network of local partners in Italy and in partnership with local institutions to combat educational poverty and offers free training and education opportunities throughout the country.
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MEDIA CONTACT: media.team@savethechildren.org.au