Is Mental Health at Risk?

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how young people study, work, communicate and seek emotional support. For Generation Z, these changes bring both opportunities and concerns.
AI tools can help explain difficult subjects and provide quick access to information. However, worries about job security, privacy, online pressure and emotional dependence may add to existing stress.
Understanding the possible benefits and risks can help young people use AI more safely without losing the value of human connection and professional support. (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2026). World Mental Health Day 2026: Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change.

Go to source), (2✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2025, September 1). Mental health of adolescents.

Go to source)

AI is not automatically harmful or helpful. Its effects can differ from one person to another.

For some students, AI tools can make learning easier. They may explain difficult ideas, help organize tasks and offer feedback. These uses can make certain tasks feel more manageable.

However, rapid technological change can also create pressure. Young people may worry about keeping up with new tools, developing the right skills or meeting changing expectations at school and work.

AI is also becoming part of online spaces where people seek advice, entertainment and companionship. The effects depend on how a tool is designed, what information it provides and how a person uses it. Research on digital well-being highlights the importance of considering both online experiences and a young person’s wider circumstances. (2✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2025, September 1). Mental health of adolescents.

Go to source), (3✔ ✔Trusted Source
American Psychological Association. (2023). Health advisory on social media use in adolescence.

Go to source)

The key question is not simply whether young people use AI, but whether it helps them manage everyday tasks or adds to their stress.

AI anxiety refers to worry about artificial intelligence and its possible effects on education, employment, skills or everyday life.

Young people may wonder:

• Will AI make my skills less valuable?
• Will employers expect me to learn new tools constantly?
• Can I trust the information AI gives me?
• Will AI replace some entry-level jobs?
• Am I falling behind if I do not use AI?

These concerns may feel overwhelming when young people are already managing exams, career choices, financial pressure or uncertainty about the future. However, feeling worried about AI does not automatically mean someone has a mental health condition.

Learning how AI works, checking its limitations and receiving practical guidance may help young people feel better prepared. Schools, colleges and workplaces can support this process by providing clear information and opportunities to develop relevant skills.

Education alone cannot solve wider concerns such as insecure employment or unequal access to training. Young people also need realistic guidance, supportive environments and opportunities to discuss their concerns.

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AI chatbots are being explored as tools for mental health information and support. They can be available at any time and may help users organize their thoughts, learn basic coping strategies or find information about seeking help.

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that the effectiveness of AI chatbots varied across studies and depended partly on factors such as the type of chatbot, its design and how people used it. The researchers found some encouraging results, but the overall effectiveness of generative AI systems remained uncertain. (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Feng, X., Tian, L., Yorke, J., Hui, V., & Ho, G. W. K. (2025). The effectiveness of AI chatbots in alleviating mental distress and promoting health behaviors among adolescents and young adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e79850.

Go to source)

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AI chatbots also have important limitations. They may give incorrect information, misunderstand what someone means or fail to respond appropriately when a person is in crisis.

A 2025 study evaluated five generative AI chatbots with psychotherapeutic capabilities. The researchers identified concerns about the quality of therapeutic responses, risk assessment and handling of crisis situations. The study highlighted the need for better safety checks and greater transparency. (5✔ ✔Trusted Source
Sobowale, K., Humphrey, D. K., & Zhao, S. Y. (2025). Evaluating generative AI psychotherapy chatbots used by youth: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Mental Health, 12, e79838.

Go to source)

AI may help someone find information or take an initial step towards support, but it should not replace a qualified mental health professional when assessment or treatment is needed.

AI companions are digital characters designed to hold personal conversations and simulate friendship or emotional closeness. Some young people use them to talk about loneliness, relationships or difficult experiences.

A 2025 Common Sense Media survey of US teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that nearly three in four had used AI companions. Around one-third of teen users said they had chosen an AI companion over a real person for important or serious conversations. These findings describe the teenagers surveyed in the United States and should not be assumed to represent all young people worldwide. (6✔ ✔Trusted Source
Common Sense Media. (2025, July 16). Talk, trust, and trade-offs: How and why teens use AI companions.

Go to source)

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An AI companion may feel easy to approach because it is available on demand and does not respond like a person who might judge or interrupt. However, a simulated relationship is not the same as a reciprocal human relationship.

AI companions can also produce misleading advice or encourage users to share personal information without fully understanding how it may be stored or used. UNICEF has highlighted the need for stronger safeguards to protect children’s rights, safety and well-being when they interact with AI chatbots and companion-like systems. (7✔ ✔Trusted Source
United Nations Children’s Fund. (2026). When AI becomes a friend: Child rights risks, harms, and regulatory responses to AI chatbots and companions.

Go to source)

Young people should be encouraged to maintain real-world friendships and seek help from trusted people. An AI conversation may provide a starting point, but it should not become their only source of emotional support.

AI & Your Headspace

Tap a card to flip it. See where each situation sits, from AI as a first step to human support essential.

AI as a first step
AI + human together
Human support essential

I want to understand what anxiety feels like
tap


AI as a first step
General info and a low-pressure space to think. Verify important health details. Chatbots can be wrong or miss your meaning.

I need help organising my thoughts before therapy
tap


AI as a first step
A useful way to gather your thoughts and arrive prepared. Bring what you find to a real session. AI cannot assess or treat you.

I want to practise a difficult conversation
tap


AI + human together
Rehearsing with AI can lower the barrier. Real feedback from a trusted person adds nuance AI cannot give. A bridge, not a replacement.

I feel lonely at night and want someone to talk to
tap


AI + human together
An AI companion may ease a moment of loneliness, but it is not a reciprocal relationship. Keep real friendships strong and talk to someone you trust.

I am having thoughts of self-harm
tap


Human support essential
Do not rely on a chatbot here. Contact a local crisis helpline, emergency services, or a trusted person right now.

I need a diagnosis or medication advice
tap


Human support essential
Only a qualified professional can assess, diagnose, or advise on medication. AI may inform, but it must never decide.

You explored all six.

AI can be a low-pressure first step and a bridge to human support. It is never a substitute for professional care or real connection.

AI-powered systems can personalize the content people see online. Recommendations may help users discover relevant information, but repeated exposure to distressing or appearance-focused content may also contribute to worry, comparison or negative feelings.

Evidence about social media should not automatically be treated as proof about every AI system. The effects depend on the content, the platform’s design, how a person uses it and their existing circumstances.

The American Psychological Association explains that social media is not inherently beneficial or harmful to every adolescent. Its effects can depend on individual characteristics, social circumstances and the features young people encounter online. (8✔ ✔Trusted Source
American Psychological Association. (2024). Potential risks of content, features, and functions: The science of how social media affects youth.

Go to source)

Helpful steps include taking breaks from upsetting content, reviewing recommendations, limiting notifications and making time for sleep, physical activity and face-to-face relationships. These steps may support a healthier balance, but technology companies also have a responsibility to design safer systems.

World Mental Health Day is observed every year on 10 October. The World Health Organization’s 2026 theme is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” The campaign calls for people who have experienced mental health conditions to help shape the policies, services and decisions that affect their lives. (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2026). World Mental Health Day 2026: Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change.

Go to source)

This message is especially relevant as young people increasingly encounter AI in education, work and emotional support. Their experiences should help guide how these tools are designed, tested and regulated.

Young people need clear information about AI’s limitations, safe ways to use digital tools and access to trusted human support. Developers, educators, families, policymakers and mental health professionals all have a role in making sure that technology supports well-being rather than creating additional risks.

Listening to young people also means taking their concerns seriously. Anxiety about work, loneliness or online pressure cannot be solved by telling individuals to adapt to technology alone.

World Mental Health Day is an opportunity to move beyond simply listening to young people’s experiences and involve them in decisions about the support and safeguards they need. (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2026). World Mental Health Day 2026: Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change.

Go to source)

A balanced approach can help young people benefit from AI while recognizing its limits.

• Check important information: Verify health advice and other high-stakes information with reliable sources or qualified professionals.
• Protect personal details: Avoid sharing sensitive health, identity, financial or private relationship information unless you understand the tool’s privacy practices.
• Keep human connections strong: Make time for friends, family, teachers and other trusted people.
• Notice changes in well-being: If AI use begins to interfere with sleep, study, work or relationships, consider setting boundaries and discussing the problem with someone you trust.
• Seek professional help when needed: Do not rely on a chatbot to diagnose a mental health condition or manage a crisis.
• Build AI literacy: Learn how AI systems can make mistakes, reflect bias or produce convincing but inaccurate answers.

The World Health Organization has stressed that AI used in health must protect human autonomy, promote safety and respect privacy and human rights. These principles are important when digital tools interact with people seeking mental health support. (9✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2021). Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: WHO guidance.

Go to source), (10✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2025). Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: Guidance on large multi-modal models.

Go to source), (11✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2021, June 28). WHO issues first global report on artificial intelligence (AI) in health and six guiding principles for its design and use.

Go to source), (12✔ ✔Trusted Source
World Health Organization. (2020). Global strategy on digital health 2020-2025.

Go to source)

Gen Z’s relationship with AI is complex. Artificial intelligence can make information and some forms of support easier to access, but it can also introduce concerns about skills, employment, privacy and emotional dependence. Current evidence does not support the claim that AI affects every young person in the same way or that AI alone explains youth mental health difficulties.

The priority is to make AI use safer while strengthening access to human connection and professional care. World Mental Health Day 2026 reminds us that young people and people with lived experience of mental health conditions should help shape the systems and services that affect them. AI should support human well-being, not become a substitute for human connection or professional care.

Published on Oct 10, 2026
Last Updated on Oct 10, 2026

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Medindia adheres to strict ethical publishing standards in publishing to deliver content that is accurate, relevant, and current. We ensure the integrity of our materials by sourcing from authoritative sources including peer-reviewed journals, academic institutions, research organizations, medical associations and, in some cases, non-profit organizations. We welcome and value audience feedback as a part of our commitment to health literacy and informed decision-making.

1. World Health Organization. (2026). World Mental Health Day 2026: Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change. – (https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-mental-health-day/2026)
2. World Health Organization. (2025, September 1). Mental health of adolescents. – (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/adolescent-mental-health)
3. American Psychological Association. (2023). Health advisory on social media use in adolescence. – (https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/health-advisory-adolescent-social-media-use)
4. Feng, X., Tian, L., Yorke, J., Hui, V., & Ho, G. W. K. (2025). The effectiveness of AI chatbots in alleviating mental distress and promoting health behaviors among adolescents and young adults: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 27, e79850. – (https://doi.org/10.2196/79850)
5. Sobowale, K., Humphrey, D. K., & Zhao, S. Y. (2025). Evaluating generative AI psychotherapy chatbots used by youth: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Mental Health, 12, e79838. – (https://doi.org/10.2196/79838)
6. Common Sense Media. (2025, July 16). Talk, trust, and trade-offs: How and why teens use AI companions. – (https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/talk-trust-and-trade-offs-how-and-why-teens-use-ai-companions)
7. United Nations Children’s Fund. (2026). When AI becomes a friend: Child rights risks, harms, and regulatory responses to AI chatbots and companions. – (https://www.unicef.org/documents/when-ai-becomes-friend-child-rights-risks)
8. American Psychological Association. (2024). Potential risks of content, features, and functions: The science of how social media affects youth. – (https://www.apa.org/topics/social-media-internet/youth-social-media-2024)
9. World Health Organization. (2021). Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: WHO guidance. – (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240029200)
10. World Health Organization. (2025). Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health: Guidance on large multi-modal models. – (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240084759)
11. World Health Organization. (2021, June 28). WHO issues first global report on artificial intelligence (AI) in health and six guiding principles for its design and use. – (https://www.who.int/news/item/28-06-2021-who-issues-first-global-report-on-ai-in-health-and-six-guiding-principles-for-its-design-and-use)
12. World Health Organization. (2020). Global strategy on digital health 2020-2025. – (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240020924)

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3. The Emotional Stroop Effect Is Modulated by the Biological Salience and Motivational Intensity Inherent in Stimuli – (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03023/full)
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7. Ask an Expert: How does Stroop Effect apply to real life situations? – (https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/ask-an-expert/viewtopic.php?t=6139)
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9. Stroop Test – (https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/stroop-test)
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