Kids and AI: Aura Finds Kids Turning to AI in Disturbing Ways
Children have more in-depth conversations with AI than with friends. Aura’s new study finds children send an average of 163 words per message to AI companion apps (chatbots designed for personal, ongoing conversations rather than task-based assistants), compared with 12 words in a typical text to a friend.
While texts with friends tend to be short and casual, AI conversations are longer, more elaborate, and often intimate. Aura also noted another stress-related behavior: “compulsive unlocking,” when kids repeatedly unlock and lock their phones.
This pattern appears most often in the morning and is tied to higher reported levels of stress. The study also found that girls reported 17% higher stress from being online than boys.
These findings come from Aura’s Overconnected Kids: Digital Stress, Addiction-Like Behaviors & AI’s Powerful Grip report, which includes study-based research and anonymized behavioral data from Aura’s app. The analysis combines device-level data with self-reported experiences to give a clearer picture of how young children interact with technology.
Methodology
Aura’s findings draw on two sources of information about children ages 8 to 17. The company’s ongoing TECHWISE study has enrolled more than 300 children and their caregivers across the United States.
Families provide regular survey responses on issues such as stress, sleep, and attitudes toward social media, while their devices record actual usage patterns. As of August 2025, the project had logged more than 58,000 hours of device activity and nearly 200,000 messages across platforms. Aura also analyzed anonymized device data from more than 10,000 of its users over a six-month period.
We are continuing to enroll families in the TECHWISE study to expand the dataset and better understand how children’s digital habits affect their development. Families, researchers, and nonprofits interested in taking part can contact our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Scott Kollins at scott@aura.com.
AI Conversations Center on Roleplay and Personal Topics
Children’s messages to AI companions fell into six main categories: sexual or romantic roleplay (36%), creative or imaginative exchanges (23%), homework help (13%), emotional or mental health (11%), advice or friendship (10%), and personal information (6%).
Sexual or romantic roleplay was nearly three times as common as homework help. Compared with peer texts, AI conversations were longer and more likely to cover personal topics.
A widely covered lawsuit in California alleges that a teenager’s death followed extensive conversations with an AI chatbot. The complaint argues the chatbot’s replies encouraged self-harm rather than directing the teen to crisis resources.
Compulsive Unlocking Peaks in the Morning
The study shows that compulsive unlocking is most common around 7 a.m., before school or breakfast. Children who reported this also reported higher levels of digital stress.
That stress reflects five pressures identified in prior psychological research on digital stress (Hall, Steele, Christofferson, & Mihailova, 2021):
- Approval anxiety: Worry about how others react to their posts or messages.
- Availability stress: Feeling pressure to respond quickly or be “always on.”
- Connection overload: Strain from the volume of online interactions and notifications.
- Fear of missing out (FOMO): Concern about being excluded from online activities or conversations.
- Online vigilance: The habit of constantly checking devices to avoid missing updates.
Girls Report Higher Digital Stress Than Boys
Girls experience significantly higher digital stress (+17%) than boys across multiple indicators. This matches external findings. A Pew Research survey found that 45% of teen girls said social media makes them feel overwhelmed, compared with 32% of boys. Girls were also more likely to report this stress.
Heavy Social Media Use Starts Early
Nearly one in five children under 13 reported spending more than four hours per day on social media. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked this level of use to higher risks of anxiety and depression. Aura’s data also shows that screen time grows sharply with age — tripling from early childhood to late teens.
For the complete findings, download the full report: Overconnected Kids: Digital Stress, Addiction-Like Behaviors & AI’s Powerful Grip →
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