Report Section:
Forewords
In this section, Paul Fletcher, CEO, Nominet and Will Gardner, Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), outline the importance of this research and its findings.
Paul Fletcher
CEO, Nominet
Why Nominet supports Safer Internet Day
We have been longstanding supporters of Safer Internet Day. At the start of 2026, a day does not go by without many conversations about Artificial Intelligence – our own discussions about how its roll-out could transform Nominet – or with our members about how their businesses are changing. AI is everywhere – and we are working through what its roll-out means to the millions of people who rely on our services daily, and the resolute team that keeps our services running.
As we all attempt to get to grips with both the limitless possibilities and incredible challenges that come with AI – it is important that we ensure young people are front and centre of our thinking. No matter how quickly AI changes today’s normal, we should all be taking steps to enable young people to benefit and improve their opportunities, while protecting them from risks like misinformation and the proliferation of harmful deepfakes.
We have been proud supporters of the UK Safer Internet Centre and Safer Internet Day for five years. Protecting and improving the lives of young people online is one of our aims, so being part of this most important date in the awareness calendar helps make this possible.
While we all work together to understand and adapt to the impact of AI on young people, we felt strongly that funding deeper research into the attitudes of young people and their parents would be a starting point for discussions at home and with wider stakeholders. By asking valuable questions about AI usage and how people feel about its adoption we can all better understand a level of transformation that has not been experienced since the industrial revolution.
There is much to consider in this report – we are now at a stage where almost all young people (97%) are using AI tools on a regular basis and over half of them feel positive about the possibilities that AI offers. At the same time though – they are worried about the impact on their generation’s creativity (49%), as well as their own (35%). Throughout the report there are several interesting gaps in perception between young people’s adoption of AI and their parents understanding of it, as (54%) of young people admit to using AI for their homework, while only (31%) think their children are using it for that purpose.
While it is hard to predict where AI will take us – it is especially important we all do what we can to understand the seismic change and do all we can to guide those who will not have experienced life without it. By funding this research and report, I hope we have played our part in sparking valuable conversations.
Will Gardner OBE
Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre
Young people are embracing AI and want to learn more about using it safely and responsibly. But they, and their parents and carers, urgently need more support.
Everyone’s talking about AI and almost all (97%) of children and young people of all ages from 8 to 17 have used AI in some form. With many children and young people using AI online on a weekly, and even daily, basis, it’s important they have the skills and confidence to make safe choices when they are using smart technology. This Safer Internet Day we are exploring the impact of AI on all of our lives, looking at how AI can be used for good, as well as the risks AI poses, and giving advice and guidance that empowers people to use AI safely and responsibly.
There is much enthusiasm among young people about AI. 80% have seen AI used in positive ways and 58% think AI makes their life better. They are positive about the future too, with 73% of young people feeling that knowing how to use AI will help them in their future careers. But young people of all ages, and their parents and carers, also have real concerns. While 41% of young people think AI can be a great source of emotional support, just as many (45%) are worried about people their age getting really close to AI, like it’s a friend. Over half (52%) of parents and carers are also worried about their child relying heavily on AI for emotional support or help with personal issues.
When it comes to studying we know that 73% of young people find AI useful. But we also know that 61% of 8 to 12-year-olds and 73% of 13 to 17-year-olds think that people their age rely heavily on AI for studying and homework, and 50% of young people have even seen people their age using AI to do their school or homework for them. Our research suggests that this heavy use of AI in studying is giving rise to issues of trust between schools and pupils, with over half (53%) of young people worried that their school may think that they used AI for their work when they didn’t.
Inappropriate and potentially harmful content made using AI is also a major source of concern for young people and their parents and carers. 60% of young people are worried about someone using AI to make inappropriate pictures of them and 65% of parents and carers are worried about this for their own children. 12% of 13 to 17-year-olds have seen people their age using AI to make sexual pictures or videos of other people and, even among younger children, 14% of 8 to 12-year-olds have seen people their age using AI to make rude or inappropriate pictures or videos of other people. This is an area that requires urgent attention. There is a clear need for the providers of this technology to address this risk, but we also need to look at how we can educate and support young people themselves to act safely and responsibly.
As they go about their online lives, young people have questions about AI and are keen to learn more and equip themselves to use AI safely and responsibly. They worry about transparency for example: 60% worry about not being able to tell if something is real or made by AI, and 75% think this it is getting harder to tell. But they also want to learn, with over half (51%) asking for more lessons at school about how to use AI safely and responsibly.
Our research shows loud and clear that parents and carers are playing a critical role as the primary source of advice and support for young people when it comes to AI. Families are willing to have important conversations: 74% of young people would talk to a parent or carer if they were worried about AI and 72% of parents and carers feel confident talking to their child about the safe and responsible use of AI. But parents and carers urgently need more support and resources too. Less than one in five (19%) have set rules or guidelines for how their child can use AI at home and only 13% know where to go for advice or support if they are worried about their child’s use of AI.
We hope Safer Internet Day can be a catalyst for important discussions both at home and among wider stakeholders about the full breadth of measures we can take to support and protect young people in the context of AI. This includes: continuing to improve and adequately resource online safety education; providing parents and carers with the information and resources they need to support their children; improving routes to report potentially harmful or illegal content made using AI; and building better protections into AI technology.
AI is part of everyday life for all of us, including young people, whether it be in their studying and schoolwork, tools for everyday living, online gaming, online interactions with each other, or seeking advice and emotional support. AI is also relevant for those young people that do not use it directly, as their peers will likely be using it, which in turn may affect them directly, and they will be seeing AI content or services proliferating around them. Young people’s real-life experience of AI is invaluable and we must create opportunities to listen to and learn from their perspectives. This Safer Internet Day and going forward, we must champion their ideas about how we can best support them to make safe choices about this smart technology.