SITTING in his bedroom, 17-year-old Freddie opens his heart to a “friend” about being bullied at school.
Desperate not to upset his mum, he instead entrusts details of his six-month ordeal to this “understanding” ear — and is comforted by the “kind” advice he receives in return.
But his confidant isn’t a school pal or a parent — in fact, it’s not even human.
Freddie is just one of thousands of British kids turning to artificial intelligence for friendship.
New figures reveal that Britain’s youngsters are facing a loneliness epidemic, with one in ten turning to AI instead of real-life relationships.
Generations Z and Alpha are so isolated that 39 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds rely on chatbots for advice, support or friendship.
The startling stats are revealed in a new YouGov survey of 5,000 kids which shows youngsters are becoming increasingly lonely as they rely on technology.
‘It was very understanding’
Freddie, of Epsom, Surrey, says: “I’ve always spent a lot of time in my room gaming. Part of that is creating online characters, so it’s not much different to talking to AI.
“I’ve asked ChatGPT for help with homework and stupid stuff, like who would win in a fight — a shark or a robot. It’s fast and easy to use. I found myself saying, ‘thank you’ because its tone was so helpful.”
But he continued: “Last year, I got really low because I was being bullied at school and I lost a lot of friends.
“I didn’t want to upset my mum, so I asked AI for help.
“It was very understanding and gave advice like, ‘Talk to an adult you trust’, and the number for Samaritans.
“Then it asked what type of bullying. I kept giving it more information, so it replied with kind advice like, ‘Make notes every time it happens’.
“It really helped, but it always ended with another question, so I told it more. I said the bullying had been going on for six months. It said, ‘Six months is a long time, you shouldn’t have to put up with that’.
In the end, Freddie says he got worried about how much personal info he was sharing with the chatbot, so stopped.
A study, commissioned by OnSide youth charity, shows that 34 per cent of kids feel lonely, while 43 per cent say they have very high levels of anxiety.
Almost four in ten say they have no opportunities to meet new people or make friends outside school, and 48 per cent spend most of their free time in their bedroom.
One in five claims it’s easier to talk to AI than a human, while ten per cent say they have nobody else to speak to.
‘AI can’t replace empathy’
Frighteningly, four in ten believe someone can be a real friend, even if they’ve never met them in person, while the same number say they have had a negative experience with online relationships.
At OneSide’s inspire zone in Chorley, Lancs, Riley, 16, told how his friends have used ChatGPT when feeling “low or down”.
He explained: “They want someone to talk to and they feel like they will be judged if they open up to a friend or family member.
They can talk about how they are feeling on AI honestly, and it can feel like an escape from whatever is going on in real life.”
Eleven-year-old Aaron, who attends OnSide’s club in Barnet, north London, said: “Before I came here, I felt lonely.
“I have two brothers, but they are way older than me. I mean, I do have a mum and dad, but they are my parents and don’t always have time to play with me.
“I wanted friends my age, other kids I can relate to. I’ve always felt like I was missing out when it came to making friends and socialising.
“I’m going to be 12 soon and, although I’m nervous about going to senior school, at least I’ll have friends here and won’t feel lonely.”
The reliance on tech comes as kids have less chance to meet new people than ever before.
Some 1,200 council-run youth clubs have closed their doors between 2010 and 2023 due to funding cuts, leaving around just 500 open.
OnSide chief executive Jamie Masraff says: “With so few real-life spaces for young people to meet, socialise and belong, we can’t blame them for turning to tech to fill that void.
“AI will play a growing role in school and the workplace, and young people must learn to navigate that — but not at the expense of rich human connection and the development of social skills.
“While AI can feel supportive, it can’t replace the empathy and understanding that comes from in-person real-life support.”
As part of the research, young people were quizzed on why they found AI better than human interaction, with one girl saying it avoided tackling embarrassing issues with her parents.
Talking to a chatbot feels safer than risking rejection. Risk taking requires vulnerability, which is scary. But it’s also what makes us human
Dan McPhilimey
Another said bluntly: “AI is always going to tell you what you want to hear.”
Britain’s children became heavily reliant on technology during the pandemic, but it went hand-in-hand with soaring anxieties.
Mental health conditions among young people rose sharply from one in eight in 2017 to one in five by 2023.
There were nearly a million referrals to CAMHS, the children and adolescent mental health services, in 2023-24.
Dan McPhilimey, a worker at OnSide’s future youth zone in Barking and Dagenham, said: “AI is instant, private, accepting and it doesn’t judge — all things many teenagers don’t always feel from the world around them.
“So it’s no surprise that many young people turn to tech when they need advice or someone to listen.
“But, behind that, something lies deeper. Many of the young people I work with tell me they find it hard to make friends or open up face-to-face.
“Introducing yourself to someone new is an old skill set from a different age.
“Talking to a chatbot feels safer than risking rejection. Risk-taking requires vulnerability, which is scary. But it’s also what makes us human.
“That’s exactly why youth work matters. Every young person deserves somewhere they can feel safe enough to be brave.
Accessible spaces
“Safe enough to try, to fail, to talk and to belong. Accessible spaces like youth clubs give them that — real people, real experiences and real growth because, the truth is, the online world might feel easier, but the real world is where connection actually happens.”
Even young people themselves say AI could be eroding their ability to study.
A report commissioned by Oxford Press last month revealed that 80 per cent of 13 to 18-year-olds regularly used AI for homework.
Yet six in ten said it has a negative impact on their development and one in four agreed that AI “makes it too easy for me to find the answers without doing the work myself”.
The isolation crisis has mainly hit the Alpha generation, who have grown up with digital technology, but also bridges Generation Z, who were born between 1997 and 2012.
Experts fear increasing use of AI could expose children to harm.
Dame Rachel de Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England, said artificial intelligence could open young people up to cyberbullying or sexual harassment as fake images are used against them.
In April, she called for the Government to ban AI apps which can create deepfake nude images of kids.
The apps allow users to “strip” victims of clothes and teenage girls are often targets.
She said: “Children have told me they are frightened by the very ideas of this technology even being available, let alone used.
“The online world is revolutionary and quickly evolving, but there’s no positive reason for these particular apps to be used.
“In our lifetime, we have seen the rise and power of artificial intelligence — once the stuff of science fiction — to shape the way we learn, connect and experience the world.
“It has enormous potential to enhance our lives.
“But in the wrong hands, it also brings alarming risks to children’s safety online.”
