More teens are using generative AI to make explicit content. What parents should know about it

Nearly 20% of teens have created AI-generated sexual content or know someone who has, a new survey found. (Credit: monkeybusinessimages/iStockphoto/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

As the use of artificial intelligence continues to proliferate, AI-generated sexual content is already impacting teenagers.

Nearly 75 per cent of teens have seen online pornography and more than half are encountering this type of content as early as age 12, according to new research from Common Sense Media.

The survey of more than 1,300 teens ages 13 to 17 showed that almost half of teens reported seeing sexual content they believed to be AI-generated.

Content created with generative AI, or gen AI, tools can include fake nude images and videos; deepfakes; and content from nudification tools and apps, which allow a user to generate a fake image that depicts people as undressed.

While the findings about teens and their exposure to sexual content have remained relatively consistent since Common Sense Media’s 2023 report, teens’ access to content has significantly changed over the past three years.

“That’s what I really think makes this notably distinct,” said lead study author Dr. Supreet Mann, director of research at Common Sense Media. “What we’re talking about is not ‘commercial or curated pornography.’ We’re talking about things that are removing the agency and stripping people of their ability to control their image.”

AI is making sexual content easily accessible

Oftentimes, teens encounter AI-generated sexual images of celebrities, but nudification tools are now exposing teens to sexual content of their peers.

Nearly 20 per cent of survey participants have created AI-generated sexual content themselves or know someone who has done so, and more than half say it depicted someone they knew, the organization’s researchers said.

“What we are seeing here is the emergence of a very specific and what I would call increasingly frictionless space that allows young people access and exploration in ways that are largely unfiltered and unregulated,” Mann said.

Nudification apps are easily available with the click of a button.

Of the 44 per cent of teens who viewed sexual content they believed to be AI-generated, 15 per cent said they came across them via an AI app that made or modified photos and videos.

Even though regulations apply to what’s allowed in app stores, these apps can sometimes slip through by not advertising the full range of their capabilities, said Riana Pfefferkorn, a policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

“There’s plenty of research showing that the ‘whack-a-mole’ job that app stores and social media platforms are doing hasn’t really been enough to keep up,” said Pfefferkorn, who was not involved in the new research.

How is this affecting teens?

Many teens were rethinking how they presented themselves on social media, Mann found.

Almost 70 per cent of teens were worried about being a victim of AI-generated sexual content without their consent. Those teens also found themselves taking action to protect themselves, by being careful of what they posted, making their social media private or even deleting their accounts entirely.

Although it’s good that teens understand how important it is to monitor their social media, Mann noted that it seemed to reinforce victim blaming.

“Why is the burden on the young people to be changing their own behaviours because of fear of other people’s actions?” she said.

The frequency of and accessibility to this type of content is also skewing teens’ perceptions of sex, consent and body image.

Nearly 70 per cent of teens think AI-generated sexual content affects how they view what their bodies should look like. This is especially concerning, considering teenagers are at a time in life when their bodies are changing constantly and rapidly, Mann said.

“It’s impacting the ways that young people are thinking about really important foundational elements of the teen experience, like consent and romantic relationships,” she added.

More than a teen issue

More than one-third of teens said they would like to talk to an adult about AI-generated sexual content, but they don’t know where to begin.

For families, this can feel like entering unfamiliar terrain. How do you start conversations about something you don’t fully understand?

Common Sense Media advises parents and guardians to have supportive conversations with their children that start with consent, health and sexual identity. This gives a solid base to work from before approaching the technology of it all.

Younger teens were more likely to feel comfortable talking to their parents compared with older teens, the research findings also suggested. Starting these conversations early may be a good way to raise awareness about AI-generated sexual content later on.

Parents and guardians should have open and ongoing conversations, rather than one big conversation, according to Mann. They should also feel comfortable asking their children to walk them through any AI-enabled apps and any other questions they have about the apps on their devices.

In many cases, teens are experiencing the negative effects of AI-generated images of themselves or others while at school.

Multiple schools are at the center of incidents in which teens are facing legal consequences for generating fake explicit images of their classmates. This makes it increasingly concerning that teens are almost as likely to feel comfortable talking to an AI chatbot compared with a school counselor or teacher, according to the new research.

Education officials must navigate dealing with these scenarios while not involving themselves in situations that technically happen off-campus. But when two students are interacting with one another, Pfefferkorn noted that implies some level of institutional responsibility.

“There is a role for schools, for parents and families, for even talking to your other friends and for platforms and policymakers,” Pfefferkorn said. “This is really a society issue rather than something that kids ought to be left to their own devices to try and deal with.”