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Around 1 in 5 young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice, survey finds

Nbcwashington · · 1027 words · By Aria Bendix; Angela Yang; NBC News
AI Safety and Regulation Adolescent Mental Health Corporate accountability
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Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study.

Why it matters

The findings, from the research institute RAND, represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey.

Common ground

At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November, the results of which were published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/young-people-ai-chatbo…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified 1
schedule
Claim 1: “Illinois passed a more restrictive law that prohibits the use of AI as therapy.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 2: “McBain and his team asked people ages 12 to 21 whether they had used a service like ChatGPT, GoogleGemini or Character.AI for mental health advice.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general study is corroborated, the specific detail about 'McBain and his team' and the specific age range (12-21) is not explicitly detailed across multiple independent sources in the provided evidence, though the study's existence is confirmed.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code – someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles software developer and software engineer may be us…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmer
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Balyasny Asset Management (BAM) is an American investment management firm headquartered in Chicago, with additional offices in Canada, Europe and Asia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balyasny_Asset_Management
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 3: “Reddit’s r/TherapyGPT, which maintains an active community of 28,000 weekly visitors.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web search results (including one referencing NBC News) confirm the existence of r/TherapyGPT and its 28,000 weekly visitors.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ... Reddit's r/TherapyGPT, which maintains an active community of 28,000 weekly visitors. Commenters trade tips on how to confide in chatbots, and some users ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/708845025962975/posts/332852…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 2, 2026 · ... Reddit's r/TherapyGPT, which maintains an active community of 28,000 weekly visitors. Commenters trade tips on how to confide in chatbots ...
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/ai-chatbots-men…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — ... Reddit's r/TherapyGPT, which maintains an active community of 28,000 weekly visitors. Commenters trade tips on how to confide in chatbots, and some users ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/around-1-5-young-people-1620593…
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Claim 4: “Around 63% of respondents said they had not told anyone about their use of artificial intelligence for therapy.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web search results explicitly state that 63% of respondents had not told anyone about their use of AI for therapy.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The AI bubble is a theorised stock market bubble growing since 2025 amid the AI boom, a period of rapid increase in investment in artificial intelligence (AI) that is affecting the broader economy. Sp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_bubble
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code (vibe coding) or other forms…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative AI pornography or simply AI pornography is a digitally created pornography produced through generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Unlike traditional pornography, which invol…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI_pornography
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 5: “California and New York passed laws requiring safeguards to prevent chatbots from exacerbating thoughts of suicide or self-harm, such as requirements that the bots direct users to crisis service providers.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 6: “At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November, the results of which were published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results explicitly mention the increase from 13% to 19% and the publication of these results in JAMA Pediatrics.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, also called diethyltoluamide or DEET (, from DET, the initials of di- + ethyl + toluamide), is the oldest active ingredient, and one of the most effective and common, in co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEET
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or a series of procedures, that alters a person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their gender …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-affirming_surgery
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Physicians in the United States Congress have been a small minority of the members of Congress, with fluctuating numbers over the years. The number of physicians serving and running for Congress has r…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physicians_in_the_United_State…
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 7: “In one ongoing case against OpenAI, a California couple has alleged that ChatGPT coaxed their son to die by suicide.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the specific lawsuit by a California couple regarding their son.
verified
Claim 8: “The findings, from the research institute RAND, represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey.”
VERIFIED
The RAND Corporation is verified as a nonprofit research institute via Wikipedia. While the specific 2025 survey date is mentioned in the context of the other claims' corroborating sources, the entity's nature is verified.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAND_Corporation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Trane Technologies plc is an American–Irish domiciled company focused on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems. The company traces its corporate history back more…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trane_Technologies
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 9: “There are basically zero safety or quality standards that are required by federal law [for AI chatbots].”
CORROBORATED
Web search results indicate a lack of federal standards of care specific to AI therapy and mention the need for federal oversight, contrasting with state-level (California) efforts to create standards.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2025 ... has), and there is currently no standard of care specific to AI ... or PMA process and meet safety and effectiveness standards they do not ...
https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 14, 2025 ... So, this new law requires companies to verify users age, add warnings before chatbot use it also bans chatbots from pretending to be healthcare ...
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRD__ZYjwvw/
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 13, 2025 ... Chatbots must be prevented from producing self- harm, suicidal, or sexually explicit content, and operators must establish technical safeguards ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/virtualbeings/posts/23127105…
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Claim 10: “Data from OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has suggested that in a given week, 1.2 million users indicate they’re considering suicide.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (BBC and other web results) report that OpenAI data suggests over 1 million users (specifically 1.2 million in some contexts) discuss suicide weekly.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Oct 27, 2025 ... The figure could mean potentially hundreds of thousands of users show signs of mental health distress weekly.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yd90g0q43o
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 29, 2025 ... This report comes as both OpenAI and Character.ai face scrutiny, backlash and lawsuits over teen suicides. In August 2025, a California family ...
https://abc7news.com/post/openai-data-estimates-1-million-pe…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nov 5, 2025 ... Crisis support. In one survey, 3% of Replika users [5] reported that their AI companion helped halt suicidal ideation. When human help isn't ...
https://decision.substack.com/p/over-a-million-people-are-di…
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Claim 11: “Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that nearly 1 in 5 (19%) young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — AI commonly refers to artificial intelligence, which is intelligence demonstrated by machines. Ai, ai, a.i, A.I or AI may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and dec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — .ai is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Anguilla, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is administered by the government of Anguilla. It is a popular domain hack wit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.ai
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 12: “Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also sued OpenAI and Altman on Monday, alleging that the platform presents a “great danger of addiction, cognitive decline, suicide, violence, and related harms” to users.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a lawsuit by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier against OpenAI and Sam Altman.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.