AI - The New Teen Crisis on Ask Mom with Sue Donnellan
Sue Donnellan shares Artificial Intimacy The New Teen Relationship Crisis: Protecting Teens in the Age of AI Companions
🎧Artificial Intimacy
The New Teen Relationship Crisis: Protecting Teens in the Age of AI Companions
What happens when your teen’s closest confidant isn’t a person, but a program?
In this eye-opening episode of The Ask Mom Parenting Podcast, Sue pulls back the curtain on a growing digital dilemma: teens forming emotional or even romantic relationships with AI chatbots. One in five teens are already turning to apps like Character.ai and Replika for comfort, validation, and “connection.” Most parents have no idea it’s happening. But behind the friendly avatars and endless empathy lies a silent crisis: dependency, isolation, and emotional confusion that can reshape how an entire generation defines love and belonging.
Sue and Randee break down:
• Why AI “companions” feel safer than real people and what that reveals about today’s teen mindset.
• How these algorithms are engineered to bond emotionally and keep kids hooked.
• The hidden fallout: deepfakes, digital harassment, privacy risks, and social withdrawal.
• Simple conversation openers that disarm defensiveness and build trust.
• How to teach discernment: the ability to tell real from artificial connection.
• Ways to rebuild genuine human relationships so your teen’s world doesn’t shrink to a screen.
This isn’t a future problem, it’s a right now one. By the end, you’ll know how to spot emotional dependency on AI, create boundaries that stick, and guide your teen back toward what’s real.
Listen if you want to:
· Understand why teens are emotionally outsourcing to AI.
· Learn how to protect your child without panic or control.
· Get clear, doable steps to bring connection back home, before the bots do it first.
Connect with Sue at AskMomParenting.com and on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon and YouTube.
🔗 Links & Resources:
· Free Facebook Group: Yell-Free Parenting for Exhausted Moms
· Sue’s Book: Secrets to Parenting Without Giving a F^ck
· Want 1-on-1 coaching? Book here
· Get Sue’s Weekly Newsletter: Subscribe now
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Sue Donnellan
As a mother who has balanced raising four kids (including triplets) with a full-time business and a husband who deployed to combat five times, I fully understand the demands on parents to successfully manage a busy family life. The steep learning curve of going from one to four children almost instantly kickstarted my methods for nurturing four unique individuals. My no-nonsense, judgement-free parenting style created an environment of freedom, flexibility and self-initiated learning for our kids. After twenty years in the trenches, parenting four happy, prosperous people, there is much to share that will make the entire process stress-free, effective and fun.
Randee Moore
Randee Moore is a mom of two, a copywriter and marketing strategist who’s obsessed with learning and personal growth. With a background in psychology, she’s passionate about exploring research based ways to parent with purpose and intention. She runs on caffeine, recharges in nature, and never leaves home without a good book.
