Why AI chatbots may not be ready to support NZ teens' mental health

As many as one in five Kiwi youth, aged between 15 and 24, have experienced anxiety or depression at some point in their lives.

The 2022/23 New Zealand Health Survey found that of those young people experiencing high mental health needs, 77% can’t access support when they need it.

So, with services experiencing this kind of unprecedented demand, what if there was another solution?

What if, teens turned to AI for mental health support?

It’s a growing trend among youth in the US, 72% of teens there admit they’ve used AI chatbots as companions. Nearly one in eight said they had sought emotional or mental health support from them.

But, is the advice their AI therapists are giving helpful, or harmful?

Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey has acknowledged that the risks “need to be managed, particularly around safety from a clinical perspective.”

Today on The Front Page, RAND senior policy researcher Ryan McBain takes us through the worrying trend sweeping America.

Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.

Host: Chelsea Daniels
Editor/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Jane Yee

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION
Where to get help:

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What’s Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Aoake te Rā – Free, brief therapeutic support service for those bereaved by suicide. Call 0800 000 053.
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111

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