Research Brief: “Teens, Trust, and Technology in the Age of AI”
From Common Sense Media:
Common Sense Media released research today that reveals a trust gap between teens and technology companies. The research brief, “Teens, Trust, and Technology in the Age of AI,” based on a nationally representative survey of 1,045 teens age 13–18, finds that nearly two-thirds of teens (64%) say tech companies cannot be trusted to care about their well-being, and 62% doubt that companies will put user safety before profits.
What makes this research brief particularly significant is the data that captures crucial insights for parents, educators, and policymakers as we work to shape and understand healthy technology consumption and use while protecting the well-being of our young people.
Additional key findings include:
- Over half of teens surveyed report that they have low levels of trust in major technology companies to make ethical and responsible design decisions (53%), keep teens’ personal information secure (52%), or be inclusive and fair when considering the needs of different users (51%).
- Nearly half (47%) of teens have little to no trust that tech companies will make responsible decisions about how they use AI in their products.
- Nearly four in 10 teens (39%) who have used generative AI for schoolwork have found inaccuracies in an AI output.
- About seven in 10 of teens support privacy safeguards and transparency measures for AI systems.
- 73% want AI-generated content to be clearly labeled or watermarked.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.