One in three UK adults are using artificial intelligence for emotional support or social interaction, according to a study by government body AI Security Institute.
Now new research, external has suggested that most teen AI companion users believe their bots can think or understand.
Working from home after years spent alone over Covid lockdowns, 23-year-old Paisley said he began to feel trapped, and felt only AI could help him.
"I lost the ability to socialise," he said, and like many in Gen Z, he turned to AI for company.
"At one point, I was talking to ChatGPT six, seven, eight times a day about my problems, I just couldn't get away from it, it was a dangerous slope."
Abusers are increasingly using wearable technology like smartwatches and rings to stalk, harass, and coerce survivors.
New data released by Refuge shows a 62 per cent rise in referrals to its technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment team in 2025 to 829, up from 512 in 2024.
The charity said the rise is being driven by the “increasing accessibility” and “reach” of wearable technology that allows abusers to “stalk, surveil and control survivors” even from a distance.
Meta’s new wearable glasses have spawned a whole new seam of ‘content’: men covertly videoing their attempts to pick up women and uploading the footage to social media.
'The footage was then posted to TikTok, where it received 1.3m views. "I just wanted to cry," Dilara, 21, told the BBC.
The man who filmed her, it turned out, had posted dozens of secretly filmed videos to TikTok, giving men tips on how to approach women.
Dilara also found out that her phone number was visible in the video. She then faced a wave of messages and calls.'
The government will consult on whether social media should be banned for under-16s in the UK.
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