Irish parents given stark warning as young kids engaging with AI chatbots on the rise

More than a quarter of all primary school children (aged 8–12) and over a third of all secondary school children (aged 12–15) in Ireland have engaged with AI chatbots, according to figures published this week in CyberSafeKids’ annual Trends & Usage Report ‘A Life Behind The Screens’.

This marks a sharp rise from last year's finding up from just 5% for 8–12 year olds and 12% for 12–15 year olds).

While the most popular use of chatbots was to look up information (19% of 8-12 year olds and 28% of 12-15 year olds), 9% of primary school children and 7% of secondary school children used chatbots to produce their school work with 8% of the younger age group and 10% of the older age group using them to chat and get advice.

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‘A Life Behind The Screens’, the report by Ireland's online safety charity – which surveyed over 9,000 children in the academic year 2024-25 – found that 8–12 year olds used Roblox more than any other online environment (63%), while WhatsApp was the most popular with 12–15 year olds (88%).

It also showed that age verification, despite new regulation, is still highly ineffective with 71% of 8–12 year olds using 13+ social media and instant messaging apps, including YouTube (60%), WhatsApp (29%), Snapchat (25%), and TikTok (23%).

Smart device ownership for 8–12 year olds has remained unchanged for the last 4 years (93%). While smartphone ownership fell this year from 49% to 39%, reflecting the success of community campaigns to delay the age children are given a phone, ownership of tablets (62%) and games consoles (53%) rose over the 4 year period. Smartphones remain the most popular device in secondary school (96% ownership for 12–15 year olds).

28% of 8–12 year olds and 26% of 12–15 year olds experienced content or unsolicited contact that ‘bothered’ them this year, including exposure to horror, violence, sexual material, and threats. There was a huge increase in problems being reported on both Roblox (59%) and YouTube (60%) by the younger age group.

Examples cited involved sexualised behaviour and harassment by bad actors on Roblox, as well as disturbing content on YouTube Shorts. The older age group also reported encountering problems on YouTube in far higher numbers (24%) than last year. TikTok (51%) and Snapchat (40%) remained the most common apps in which 12–15 year olds encountered harm.

8–12 year olds who participated in group chats were more likely to have experienced cyberbullying (30%) than those who did not (11%). The most popular apps to use for group chats were WhatsApp (24%) and Snapchat (23%), platforms that, due to their design features, such as disappearing messages and locked chats, are difficult to monitor and could lead to increased disinhibition.

Despite evidence of increased awareness of online harms among parent groups and Ireland’s digital age of consent (16), 34% of 8–12 year olds and 48% of 12–15 year olds did not speak to their parents about online safety in the last year.

The benefits of family supervision and setting rules at home are highlighted in the report, but over a quarter (28%) of 8–12 year olds and more than half (58%) of 12–15 year olds indicated ‘I can go online whenever I want’ with 63% of primary school aged kids and 79% of secondary school aged kids saying ‘my parents can’t see what I am doing online’.

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The report highlights that popular digital environments were not designed with children in mind and they continue to fall short in protecting them.

The fact that negative experiences are still commonplace amongst younger children despite a reduction in smartphone ownership and social media accounts, clearly demonstrates that the problems go beyond a singular focus on smartphones, and a societal solution that includes all smart devices and popular digital environments, including the often overlooked world of gaming and instant messaging apps, from a regulatory perspective, is needed.

Less than half of young people (41% of 8–12 year olds, 46% of 12–15 year olds) indicated that spending time online was a mostly positive experience this year.

CyberSafeKids CEO, Alex Cooney, said:

"We are still struggling to effectively regulate social media, and those same mistakes are being repeated with the unchecked rise of generative AI. With few safeguards in place, and chatbot technology increasingly embedded in the apps children use, we are exposing them to misinformation, privacy violations, and harmful advice.

"We need urgent action—not just in Ireland, but across Europe. This requires strong, coordinated regulation at EU level, including effective age verification, the removal of recommender systems, and oversight of AI chatbots, instant messaging, and social gaming platforms.

"These measures must be backed by robust parental engagement and comprehensive digital education."

Dr Barry O’Leary, Principal of St. Kevin’s National School in Sallynoggin said:

“While a decline in smartphone ownership is welcome, the reality remains stark - two-thirds of primary school children by the age of 12 already possess a powerful supercomputer in their pocket, and more than 90% retain access to a smart device of some kind.

“Disturbingly high levels of harmful online experiences persist—made more so by the fact that over 75% of children have unfettered access to online content in their bedrooms - and over half of children have not spoken with their parents about online safety in the past year.

“These conversations are not optional but urgent, they are not a luxury - but a necessary lifeline against the surging torrent of digital content to which children are exposed daily.”

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Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE, London School of Economics and Political Science, added:

“Big Tech continues to innovate rapidly, and huge interest centres on children’s use of GenAI. The surge in the number of children engaging with AI chatbots – way more than last year – is worrying given that the latest regulation only partially applies to such services.

“This report shows the most popular use of generative AI is to look up information: so we need to keep an eye on the information they get this way, and children’s capacity to identify disinformation."

To help children thrive in the digital world, CyberSafeKids outlines three key recommendations in the report:

Regulation

Coimisiún na Meán must have the power and tools to hold digital platforms accountable to Child Rights by Design standards, including applying geo-blocking and sanctions when necessary. Legal gaps should be closed through measures like the European Digital Fairness Act and extending Ireland’s Children First Act to digital services.

Education

Digital and media literacy must be a core part of the education system, starting at the primary level and embedded across all curricula. It should also be included in teacher training and ongoing professional development to equip students with critical online safety and thinking skills.

Digital Parenting

Parents and caregivers must be supported and upskilled to actively engage with their children’s online lives, applying the same common-sense rules as in the offline world.

The full report is available to read here: A Life Behind The Screens: Uncovering The Realities of Digital Childhood