More than half of young people in the UK have used an AI chatbot such as ChatGPT in the last year to help them with schoolwork, emails or their job, research suggests.
Nominet’s latest annual Digital Youth Index, which examines young people’s online habits and attitudes, suggests that while most young people (94%) feel safe online, 76% said they had been exposed to an upsetting experience.
That is a 7% rise on last year, with young people reporting an increase in exposure to fake news and hate speech, both up 4%, as well as sexual content, up by 6%.
The study, conducted by Opinium, surveyed 4,000 people aged between eight and 25 in the UK.
The young people surveyed claimed to spend an average of between four and five hours a day online – mostly on social media, chatting with friends or accessing entertainment.
Most (95%) of those asked said they were on at least one social network, including children who are under the age limit for some of those services.
