During the past few years, AI took a central place in the online world, and thus a big part of the lives of young lives, leading to some unanswered questions: what should young people know about AI? How should parents and guardians accompany them? And does it affect their mental wellbeing? It’s important to support parents, educators, teachers, and other caregivers in how they can accompany children in the use of AI.

AI is a part of the daily life of children 

Artificial intelligence is growing exponentially and is already part of everyone’s daily lives. According to the #Génération2024 and Apenstaartjaren surveys, 57 per cent of secondary school students in Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles and 66 per cent of secondary school students in Flanders say they have already used an AI-powered application or website.  

Young people turn to it when they have all kinds of questions: the main motivations for using AI include: "getting answers to questions I have", "testing or discovering AI" and “for help with my homework”.  

Fostering media literacy to maximise opportunities and minimise risks 

While AI offers opportunities and conveniences in many areas of interest to young people, its use is not without risks. Some AI models have biases that can distort the information they provide, while others collect personal data, compromising privacy and even, in some cases, personal integrity.  

Young people are aware of these risks, but don’t always know how to deal with them. That’s why it’s important to provide educational guidance, by helping children develop critical thinking about AI. Media literacy plays a crucial role in educating children, fostering a better understanding of these tools, and developing critical thinking to recognise their limitations and potential risks. 

"I think we will learn to collaborate with AI rather than be replaced by it." – Miro, 15 years old (NL) 

"The advantages are AI’s ability to provide very efficient and precise answers on a subject. The disadvantages are that it could make us lazier and threaten certain jobs." – Julia (FR) 

AI: the perfect virtual friend? 

The main motivation for young people to use AI is to receive answers to questions they have. 20 per cent of the secondary school students in Flanders and 10 per cent in Brussels-Wallonia Federation uses AI to chat or talk to a virtual friend (such as MyAI in Snapchat). AI is used as a sort of ‘person’ to talk to or to ask for advice.  

"Sometimes I feel stressed, and then I ask AI for some tips to reduce my stress.” - Noor (NL) 

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a problem, as long as children have real-life support places available in case of questions or problems. However, approximately 12 per cent of secondary school students in Flanders feel like they have nowhere to go in case of a problem with, for example, sexting or cyberbullying. 

"Being friends with an AI? I think it’s just a computer, it has no feelings, I find that quite strange." – Ethel (FR)

Especially for those young people who feel like they have nowhere to go, AI might be a way for them to find answers to their questions. That can be a good first step, but it might also lead to misleading answers or the feeling of isolation, since there’s no real person to talk to.   

It’s more important than ever to be present for children and young people, so that they have someone to talk to in case of personal problems. We should make sure to keep the conversation about their digital lives open: by showing interest in their (digital) lives, we know what’s going on, but we also make it easier for children to come to trusted adults for help in the future. Besides a real person to talk to, adults can also refer youngsters to existing youth information or support platforms available in Belgium like WATWAT, Awel, Cybersquad.be, Parolesdados.be. 

“AI can provide useful answers, but for certain topics and concerns, we, as adults, must remain key points of reference. AI alone cannot fulfill this role, especially for more sensitive topics like sexuality education, political positioning, etc.” - Tatiana De Brabandere, CSEM      

Find more information about the work of the Belgian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services, or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.