252 | 1 in 5 Teens Have an AI Girlfriend

"One in five teenagers has an AI girlfriend." That's the headline that's been ripping through the internet — and it's also not quite what the research says. Josh and Will dig into where this viral stat actually comes from, why the real numbers are messier than the headline, and whether parents should actually be worried.From Clippy jokes and AOL Instant Messenger nostalgia to a genuinely unsettling hypothetical about a 12-year-old learning to "relate" through an AI that's really just a mirror of themselves, this one goes deep. We dig into the UK research and Common Sense Media studies behind the stat, why people give their AI tools human names, and what's actually different about this generation's relationship with chatbots versus the bots we grew up with.--♣️Want to become a HiTech Club member, support the pod, and get all of the extras on our episodes? Head over to our Buy Me a Coffee to subscribe: buymeacoffee.com/hitechpodcast.🌐Check out ⁠⁠⁠hitechpod.us⁠⁠⁠ for all of our episode pages, social links, and more!📖Need a journal that's secure and reflective? Check out our episodes on the Reflection App, and then sign-up for the App⁠ today!🌏Build a world limited only by your imagination in Topia! A virtual world-building tool built to bring you and any of your virtual guests together. Interested in signing up and learning more? Reach out to us or Topia and let them know we sent you!