Scroll Smarter: AI chatbots aren’t friends

Jan. 20, 2026

Hi there! Know someone who'd enjoy this newsletter? Hit “forward” to share it with them.

in this issue

Top stories | Family Q&A | Bonus reads | Video of the month

How to navigate tough headlines

Raw footage of gun violence. Unverified claims. AI-generated fakes.

Information flooded social media in the hours after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. The incident was emotional, disturbing and divisive — and connected to a larger national debate about immigration, making it a perfect target for partisan trolls to capitalize on the tragedy.

What to know:

🆘Watching violence play out on social media is distressing for adults and kids alike. Young people who saw videos of the shooting may feel a range of emotions, including anxiety, anger and confusion.

❓These kinds of breaking news events inspire intense curiosity, but verified information is often slower to emerge than speculative social media posts and rumors.

😖Bad actors often exploit our impatience during big news events by quickly filling the knowledge gap with false and misleading information that intensifies the emotions we are already feeling.

What you can do:

🛟Psychologists say listening to your child is key. They suggest considering what might work best for your kid’s own frame of mind and finding ways to validate their feelings while not shying away from displaying your own emotions and uncertainties.

📵 If your child seems overwhelmed, it might be a good opportunity to suggest taking some time away from social media, according to the director of Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development. Families can offer an offline activity to provide connection and comfort.

🔔While it’s tempting to dive into your social media feed for details during breaking news events, you might encourage your child to be patient and remind them that credible sources gather and confirm details before publishing them. Verification takes time.

Parents weigh social media bans

Australia’s ban on social media for kids younger than 16 went into effect in December, and parents around the world are wondering whether a similar move would work where they live.

What to know:

📴The Australian ban requires the tech companies that run the most popular social media apps to remove users younger than 16 from their platforms.

⌛Some U.S. states have passed laws limiting minors’ use of social media apps, including Virginia, which requires companies to implement one-hour daily limits for users under 16. Companies that don’t comply could be fined, though the law has been challenged in court.

⚖️Some parents who’ve struggled with difficult-to-use parental controls welcome government intervention, while others say such laws are an overstep.

What you can do:

⏰Manage screen time. Adolescents’ developing brains can find social media especially addictive. Try using parental controls to limit screen time or encourage your family to try a social media detox and then talk about how the break affected them.

👀Watch out for misinformation. Viral rumors spread quickly on social media, where people can often profit from grabbing our attention. Encourage your child to talk about what they see on social media with an adult they trust.

🗪 Talk about social media use with your kid. Some ideas to start a conversation: “Do you think your time on your phone today was productive or worthwhile?” or “Did you see anything online today that made you go ‘huh, I wonder if that’s true?’ Can you show me?”

AI chatbots aren’t friends

Question: 

As a parent, I’ve heard that kids and teens are starting to turn to AI chatbots for advice or even sometimes companionship. How can we help young people in our lives think critically about chatbots as information sources rather than “friendly” sources of information?

— A concerned parent

Answer: 

Just by asking this question, it’s clear that you’re aiming for your family to be thoughtful about using AI. So you’re already off to a great start!

What you’ve heard is true — teens are indeed turning to AI chatbots. Some quick stats from researchers:

• One in five high schoolers say they’ve been in a romantic relationship with a chatbot or know someone who has.
• About 64% of teens ages 13 to 17 say they use chatbots.

Before your teen gets too friendly with chatbots, remember to:

• Prioritize in-person relationships. Teens need supportive, real-world relationships in their lives, and chatbots aren’t friends. Help teens build community by suggesting they join a group activity or facilitating time with family and friends.
• Set limits. If AI chatbots are reducing the time your teen spends socializing with people or are disrupting their sleep, set time limitations. (Here are parental controls for ChatGPT, although — as you no doubt know — teens often find workarounds!)
• Keep talking. Know what tools your kids are using and for what purposes. Check out the conversation starters and more AI tips in this new infographic by the News Literacy Project in partnership with the American Psychological Association:

Some guidance for kids using AI for information:

• Chatbots are more synthesizers of information patterns than sources of information. It’s easy to forget when you’re interacting with them, but AI chatbots are not “thinking” or “writing” as we would. They are replicating complex and subtle patterns in text that they’ve learned from being trained on unimaginably large amounts of text.
• Watch out for misinformation (and flattery). Try using a chatbot with the kid in your life and submit prompts about a subject in which they are an expert, like sports or favorite TV shows. Analyze the answers together and see if there are inaccuracies — or awkward compliments. Remind them that chatbots often get things wrong, and that they’re simply making predictions based on training data, which can include biased, inaccurate and harmful information. Chatbots also sometimes fabricate things and convey them confidently as well-sourced facts. Above all, keep in mind: chatbots don’t “think.”
• Review these takeaways. Share this infographic of “6 things to know about AI” with your kid for a basic understanding of how AI affects the information landscape.

➡️ Do you have a question for NLP experts? Share it in this form and we may answer it in a future issue. We can address questions about artificial intelligence, social media, journalism, misinformation and more in a family-oriented way.

 

⭐ You’ll win swag from the News Literacy Project if your question is picked!

Questions may be edited or rephrased for clarity and length.