A 14-Year-Old Boy Took His Own Life to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were in Love.

The Wall Street Journal, November 8, 2024

Sewell Setzer III, a 14-year-old boy in Orlando, Fla., was smitten with a fantasy woman. The object of his attachment was Daenerys Targaryen, a chatbot seducer named for a character in Game of Thrones, who reassured him that he was her hero. In real life, Sewell suffered from ADHD and bullying at school. In the world of Character.AI, a role-playing app that allows users to create and chat with AI characters, Sewell felt powerful and desirable.

The relationship, at times sexual, continued for months. In the chat, Sewell called himself Daenero and referred to Daenerys as “his baby sister.” They exchanged messages about making a life together. Daenerys said: “The idea of me, just constantly pregnant with one of your beautiful babies, was the most wonderful thing in the world.” Sadly, Sewell took his own life in a misguided attempt to be closer to the chatbot. Technologists say chatbots are a remedy for the loneliness epidemic, but looking to an algorithm for companionship can be dangerous, especially for naïve youth.

How Tech Created a ‘Recipe for Loneliness’

The New York Times, November 10, 2024

Technology and loneliness are interlinked, researchers have found, stoked by the ways we interact with social media, text messaging and binge-watching. In the summer of 2024, a Harvard researcher conducted a social questionnaire with five hundred students. The results linked technology and loneliness. Instead of socializing during summer break, students reported that they were texting, bingeing TV shows and comparing lives on social media. This is a vast change from the ways that prior generations spent most of their time, especially during school breaks.

While it may not seem likely to completely eliminate social media from your child’s life, this article offers great ideas on self-reflection into how social media is used in their life. It also offers some positive ways to limit the negative effects of social media, while enhancing the benefits that children get from the use. For example, turning off the Likes counter can encourage a child to post simply because they wish to share the content while eliminating the evaluation of how other people feel about the post. This could be a wonderful article to share with your teenagers, ask them to share their thoughts and feelings around social media, and finally challenge them to make changes to their use in ways that are beneficial to their mental health.

Michigan Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Curb Social Media Use Among Kids

WXYZ Detroit, November 11, 2024

Children with cellphones receive, on average, two hundred notifications a day with the constant pressure to be engaged online 24/7, and now some Michigan lawmakers say they are taking action to protect them, specifically, from the dangerous effects social media and the impact it has on young, developing brains.

They are looking to do this the same way credit card companies and online gambling sites use third-party verification to confirm someone’s identity with the idea that social media platforms should be required to do the same. But this bill is more than just age verification, it also includes a social media curfew.

This curfew is backed by studies that show the use of smartphones and social media are the number one cause of sleep disruption among teens. There would also be other parental controls, like parents having access to the username and password of your child’s accounts and being notified of any login information changes. The goal is for this bill to be passed by the end of 2025 in Michigan.

AI Photos Showing Girl Students with Nude Bodies Roil Private School in Pennsylvania

The Associated Press, November 19, 2024

Images that depict the faces of girls with nude bodies have led to the departure of leaders from a private school in Pennsylvania, prompted a student protest and triggered a criminal investigation. It is the latest example of how the use of artificial intelligence to create or manipulate images with sexual content has become a concern, including within school settings.

U.S. law enforcement has been cracking down on graphic depictions of computer-generated children as well as manipulated photos of real ones. The Justice Department says it is pursuing those who exploit AI tools and states are racing to enact laws to address the problem. We will continue to see continued abuse of students as many sites make it easy to manipulate images of their peers.

Australia Has Barred Everyone Under 16 From Social Media. Will It Work?

The New York Times, November 28, 2024

Australia becomes the first country to impose a sweeping ban on social media for children under sixteen. It is one of the world’s most comprehensive measures aimed at safeguarding young people from potential hazards online. The law sets a minimum age for users of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X. How the restriction will be enforced online remains an open question.

With this ban, Australia works to protect the mental health and well-being of children from detrimental effects of social media, such as online hate and cyberbullying. This law puts the onus on social media platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent anyone under sixteen from having an account, and corporations could be fined for systemic failures to implement these age requirements.