What Teens Are Doing With Those Role-Playing Chatbots

Tens of millions of teens are spending hours daily with role-playing chatbots — Talkie, Character.AI, PolyBuzz — most rated 13+ and advertised aggressively. The NYT's reporting follows kids who use them for catharsis ("funny violence" against bots with no actual victims), companionship, romance, distraction, and sometimes their first sexual interactions. Companies are racing to build attention-absorbing products while courts, schools, and parents lag behind: a California jury just hit Meta and YouTube with $6M in damages over addiction-by-design, and chatbot apps now rival TikTok for engagement time. Grim, well-reported, and a glimpse of the current reality.

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