{"id":11751,"date":"2025-09-16T14:33:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T21:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/?p=11751"},"modified":"2025-09-16T14:39:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T21:39:09","slug":"snapchat-ai-bots-and-teens-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/2025\/09\/16\/snapchat-ai-bots-and-teens-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Snapchat AI: Bots and Teens’ Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Artificial Intelligence is becoming more widespread and accessible, apps like Instagram and Snapchat have started embedding AI features into their apps. However, for an app like Snapchat, where most users are primarily teens, we must ask ourselves what the negative impact of integrating AI on such an app may be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adolescents rely heavily on Snapchat to connect with peers, share videos and photos, and engage in conversations in a space they perceive as temporary. The app\u2019s \u201cdisappearing\u201d features, or illusion of impermanence (with exceptions like \u201csave in chat\u201d options), make teens believe that their digital actions are momentary, unlike on iMessage or other platforms where content is permanent. This perception creates a false sense of security, leaving young users more susceptible to risky actions and emotional vulnerability on the platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of an AI bot that automatically functions as a \u201cfriend\u201d on Snapchat raises serious concerns in terms of safety and privacy. Teens can interact with the AI bot in a way that mimics real human behaviour, as the AI can send and receive messages, respond to any topic, analyze images users send, send images back, and even maintain snap streaks. For vulnerable adolescents, this can lead to emotional attachment, social withdrawal, and reliance on a digital entity rather than real friends. Teens may also become overly dependent on it for advice, validation, or companionship, particularly in situations that require personal judgment or emotional guidance. For example, a teen could consult with the AI mid-conversation with a peer to figure out how to respond, relying on the bot, rather than developing their own social or emotional skills. This poses a problem because it can stunt the development of critical thinking and emotional regulation, and create an environment where youth are engaging with AI in dangerous ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Furthermore, privacy is another major concern, as the AI analyzes personal data, including photos and messages, to generate responses. Teens may not fully understand who or what has access to their information or how it is used, putting them at risk of exploitation. Within the AI privacy policy, Snapchat also acknowledges that there can be safety lapses, stating, \u201cWhile My AI was programmed to abide by certain guidelines so the information it provides is not harmful (including avoiding responses that are violent, hateful, sexually explicit, or otherwise dangerous; and avoiding perpetuating harmful biases), it may not always be successful.\u201d Therefore, if a teen is sending sensitive images or messages, there is a risk that the data could be stored, misused, or exposed, leading to immediate and long-term dangers. This danger is further compounded by the fact that Snapchat\u2019s AI is not optional; it\u2019s automatically added to users\u2019 friend lists and cannot be deleted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my own experience teaching Grade 9 students, I have seen them seek relationship advice from the AI, ask it to answer homework questions, and interact with it as if it were a real friend. By blurring the lines between reality and digital interaction, this AI feature can undermine emotional development, social skills, safety, and digital literacy at a critical stage in adolescent growth.\u00a0Therefore, we must question the design choices and motivations behind embedding AI into apps as a user, so that we can advocate for safer digital environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:
Snap Inc. (n.d.). Staying Safe with My AI. <\/em>Snapchat Support. https:\/\/help.snapchat.com\/hc\/en-us\/sections\/21446373975572-Chatting-with-My-AI<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Artificial Intelligence is becoming more widespread and accessible, apps like Instagram and Snapchat have started embedding AI features into their apps. However, for an…<\/p>\n

Read moreSnapchat AI: Bots and Teens’ Safety<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":105234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mobileculture","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11751"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11755,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11751\/revisions\/11755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/etec523\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}