Parental and Artificial Intelligence Perspectives on Adolescent Sexting: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the perspectives of artificial intelligence (AI) language models on the complex issue of sexting among adolescents, comparing their ability to mediate and manage quality communication on the topic with traditional parental mediation strategies. Drawing on a survey of 472 parents, the research compared parental attitudes, communication patterns, and mediation approaches to the outputs generated by four AI systems. The findings revealed that AI models emphasize to emphasize restrictive mediation strategies and highlight the perceived susceptibility and severity of sexting, while parental responses were varied. Notably, the AI systems differed in predicting dysfunctional parent–child communication on sexting, suggesting divergent implicit models of ideal communication dynamics. By comparing AI-generated responses with human reactions, this research offers initial insights into the significance of parental communication with adolescents regarding sexting and the potential limitations of current language models in promoting improved discussions between parents and adolescents on sensitive topics.