Children's AI Use Grows Threefold Faster Than Adults, UNICEF Finds

A UNICEF report covering ten countries – Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jordan, Mexico, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Pakistan and Serbia – estimates that at least 20 million children and adolescents are using generative AI tools, a rate more than three times higher than that of adults. The primary purpose is assistance with school tasks, reported by 65 % of young users, and one in ten seeks personal advice from AI. In Brazil, 10 % of child internet users employ generative AI to discuss personal problems. A third of children expressed concern about AI being used for scams, misinformation or deception, and a quarter feared misuse of their images in deep‑fake content; UNICEF notes that AI‑generated sexual imagery affected an estimated 1.2 million children across 11 countries in a single year.

A Deloitte survey of 1,150 parents of school‑age children (primarily in Taiwan) found that about half worry their children are becoming overly dependent on AI, while roughly one‑third doubt schools are adequately preparing students with AI skills. Only 22 % say their child's school provides approved generative‑AI tools, and 33 % report that schools have usage guidelines. Some parents plan to pay for AI tutoring or summer camps, and teachers are adapting assignments, such as reverting to handwritten work, to verify student authorship.