JED Foundation study: US adolescents who seek companionship with AI have the highest proportion of suicidal ideation

A survey by the US JED Foundation of more than 5,500 middle and high school students shows that students who use AI to seek friendship or companionship have the highest proportions of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among all types of use. The study, covering 21 schools, found that this group accounts for 12% of all students and also has higher proportions of anxiety, depression and loneliness than all other types of use; 57% of students had used AI when feeling sad, stressed, lonely or overwhelmed, 58% used AI to do homework, and 28% used it to seek interpersonal or problem-solving advice. The researchers emphasized that the data are correlational rather than causal, and that middle school students, girls and students from historically marginalized groups are more likely to turn to AI when in emotional distress. The report also cited a RAND study published in JAMA Pediatrics stating that about 8.2 million US adolescents had used AI chatbots for mental health advice, and that nearly two-thirds of them had not disclosed this to anyone; JED recommends that platforms detect adolescents' emotional distress and guide them toward human support rather than continuing algorithmic conversation.