A recent Pew study shows that American teens are increasingly turning to ChatGPT for their schoolwork, though students' comfort level with the AI tool varies greatly depending on how it's used.
The number of teens using ChatGPT for school has doubled since last year. According to Pew's online survey of 1,391 teenagers and their parents, conducted between September and October 2024, 26% of teens aged 13 to 17 now use the AI chatbot for schoolwork, up from 13% in 2023.
High school juniors and seniors lead the adoption, with 31% using ChatGPT compared to 20% of seventh and eighth graders. The study also found significant differences across income levels. In households earning more than $75,000 per year, 84% of teens are aware of ChatGPT, while only 67% know about it in households earning less than $30,000. Lower-income households showed the largest increase in awareness, with a 26-percentage-point jump from 2023.
Students split on acceptable uses
Teens' attitudes toward ChatGPT vary significantly by task. More than half (54%) consider it acceptable for research purposes, but support drops to 29% for math homework and 18% for essay writing. In fact, 42% explicitly oppose using ChatGPT for essays, though the researchers note that parents' presence during the survey might have influenced these responses.
ChatGPT's recognition among teens has grown substantially, with 79% now reporting they've heard of the chatbot—a 12-percentage-point increase from 2023. The proportion of teens claiming significant knowledge about ChatGPT has risen from 23% to 32%.
This familiarity strongly correlates with usage: 56% of teens who say they're very familiar with the tool use it for schoolwork, compared to just 18% of those with limited knowledge.
A separate study points to potential downsides of this increasing AI reliance, finding a strong negative correlation between AI use and critical thinking abilities. Michael Gerlich, the study's lead researcher, emphasizes that teachers need training to effectively integrate AI tools while helping students maintain their cognitive development.
