teenagers

Read the latest news stories about teenagers and the teenage brain on Newser.com

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Denmark: Kids 'Should Not Be Left Alone in a Digital World'

European nation bans social media for anyone under the age of 15

(Newser) - Denmark's government on Friday announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under the age of 15. The move, led by the nation's Ministry of Digitalization, would set the age limit for access to social media but give some parents, after a specific assessment,...

7-Foot-9-Inch Teen Makes College Basketball History

World's tallest teen, new Florida Gator Olivier Rioux, is now tallest teen to play the NCAA sport

(Newser) - Florida coach Todd Golden had people yelling at him during halftime on Thursday night to get 7-foot-9-inch center Olivier Rioux in the game. Golden relented with 2:09 to play—and made history in the process—after chants of "We want Ollie!" swept through the O'Connell Center....

OpenAI Slammed With Lawsuits Over 'Dangerous' ChatGPT

Complaints say AI-driven chatbot drove people even without prior mental health issues to suicide

(Newser) - OpenAI is facing seven lawsuits claiming ChatGPT drove people to suicide and harmful delusions, even when they had no prior mental health issues. The lawsuits filed Thursday in California state courts allege wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, and negligence, per the AP . Filed on behalf of six adults and...

Cops Detain Teen at Gunpoint After AI Doritos Mix-Up

Artificial intelligence system at Baltimore 16-year-old's school thought bag of chips was a gun

(Newser) - A Baltimore teenager was detained at gunpoint by police after an artificial intelligence system used at his school mistook a bag of chips for a firearm, reports the BBC . Taki Allen, 16, described to WMAR a chaotic scene at Kenwood High School in which eight police cars arrived and officers...

High-School Kids Are Dating AI Now
High-School Kids
Are Dating AI Now
Oct 19, 2025 5:00 PM CDT

High-School Kids Are Dating AI Now

Survey links heavy school AI use to privacy and well-being concerns

(Newser) - High schoolers are falling in love with AI—literally. NPR reports that one in five high school students say they or someone they know has had a romantic relationship with artificial intelligence, according to new data from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT). Another 42% said they've...

WHO Warns of Jump in Vapers, Especially Teens
WHO: 100M People Now Vape
Oct 6, 2025 4:24 PM CDT

WHO: 100M People Now Vape

Agency says industry is going after young people as use of tobacco products drops

(Newser) - A surge in e-cigarette use is sparking fresh concerns from the World Health Organization about a wave of nicotine addiction—reporting that more than 100 million people worldwide now vape, including at least 15 million teenagers. The agency's warns that young people are getting hooked on nicotine at...

TikTok Search Prompts Expose Teens to Adult Content: Report

Watchdog says algorithms steered minors to explicit material, despite safeguards

(Newser) - A new investigation claims that TikTok's search algorithms have been steering 13-year-old users toward explicit content, even when using the app's "restricted mode," which is designed to filter out inappropriate material, per CNN . The watchdog group Global Witness set up seven accounts in the UK,...

Parents Must Pay $300K After Teens' Soup Prank
Parents Must Pay $300K
After Teens' Soup Prank
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Sep 21, 2025 6:31 AM CDT

Parents Must Pay $300K After Teens' Soup Prank

China's largest hotpot chain had sought damages of more than $3M over drunken stunt

(Newser) - Peeing into a pot of broth at China's largest hotpot chain has landed two teenagers a rather large bill: $309,000. The Shanghai 17-year-olds filmed the drunken February stunt—in which NBC News reports they took turns urinating in a pot in a private dining room at Haidilao...

Teen Babysitting Is Fading Away, and That's a Shame

Both the teens and the kids gain something from the experience, writes Anna North

(Newser) - Babysitting has changed in a big way since Anna North made $5 an hour watching neighborhood kids as a teenager back in the 1990s. Today, it's "become a professionalized job with dedicated apps and a workforce of experienced adults," North writes at Vox . Teens looking to make...

Parents Sue ChatGPT After Teen Son's Death

They say the OpenAI tool coached Adam Raine on how to take his own life

(Newser) - The parents of a 16-year-old California boy who took his own life are blaming ChatGPT for his death, saying the bot coached him on how to do it. Both NBC News and the New York Times report that it's the first such suit filed against ChatGPT maker OpenAI. (Last...

Last Text From NC Teen Who Vanished in Florida: 'Help Me'

Body of Giovanni Pelletier, 18, found in Florida after he vacationed there with family

(Newser) - An 18-year-old from North Carolina whose family says he vanished under "deeply troubling and suspicious circumstances" has been found dead in Florida after vacationing there. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office confirmed on Thursday that a body found Aug. 8 in a retention pond in Bradenton is indeed that...

Watchdog Slams 'Ineffective' ChatGPT Guardrails for Teens

Center for Countering Digital Hate says AI chatbot offers kids detailed plans for self-harm, drug use

(Newser) - ChatGPT will instruct 13-year-olds how to get drunk and high, tell them how to conceal eating disorders, and even compose a suicide letter to their parents if asked, per new research from a watchdog group. The AP reviewed three-plus hours of interactions between ChatGPT and researchers posing as vulnerable teens....

Teen on Family Vacation Ends Up in Wrong Country

UK boy headed home to London from Spain took a detour to Italian city of Milan instead

(Newser) - A British teenager's journey home from vacation took an unexpected detour this week after he boarded the wrong flight at Minorca's Mahon airport. The 15-year-old, set to fly to London's Stansted Airport, became separated from family in the airport's departures area and ended up on...

Report: Russian Teens Recruited to Build War Drones

Teens are lured in through video games, national tech competitions, per banished Russian outlet

(Newser) - A new investigation by an exiled Russian outlet has uncovered a systematic effort by Russian authorities to recruit children into designing and testing military drones used in the war against Ukraine. The process reportedly begins with educational video games such as Berloga ("Bear's Den"), launched in...

UK Teen Jailed Over 'Holiday Romance' in Dubai Is Pardoned

Marcus Fakana had sex with a British teen in the UAE a month before she turned 18

(Newser) - A 19-year-old British man imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for having sex with a 17-year-old has been released with a royal pardon. Marcus Fakana from north London was vacationing in the UAE last year when a "holiday romance blossomed" between himself and another British teen on vacation, according...

Teens' Slip 'N Slide Party Has an Unexpected Guest

A good time was had by all after UPS driver crashes wet festivities in Lancaster County, Pa.

(Newser) - Summer has already kicked off in the hottest way possible , but one UPS driver figured out a fun way to stay cool while making his deliveries and is now going viral for his ingenuity. USA Today reports that five teens were in the yard in front of a home in...

Boy, 14, Fell Into 'Altered Mental State,' Walked Off Mountain

Zane Wach is in medically induced coma after getting disoriented on Mount Whitney hike with dad

(Newser) - A teen is fighting for his life after he stepped off a ledge on California's highest peak during a hike with his dad. Ryan Wach tells SFGate he took son Zane, 14, on June 10 for what he says was the boy's first mountaineering expedition on Mount Whitney....

Boy, 15, Struck by Lightning in Central Park

'He's lucky to be alive,' cop says of 15-year-old Yassin Khalifa, who suffered minor burns

(Newser) - A 15-year-old boy is recuperating after being struck by lightning in New York's Central Park, lucky to escape with just minor burns. The New York Times reports that the incident happened Thursday afternoon when a thunderstorm hit, as a group of teens was hanging out on the east side...

Parents Warn of 'Dusting' Dangers After Teen's Death

Arizona's Renna O'Rourke, 19, died after inhaling keyboard cleaner

(Newser) - An Arizona couple is mourning the loss of their 19-year-old daughter, and warning other parents about the dangers of how she died. AZFamily and News 3 Las Vegas report that Renna O'Rourke died of sudden sniffing death syndrome after taking part in a social media challenge known as "...

This Teen Deserves to Be an Emmy Rarity
This Teen Deserves
to Be an Emmy Rarity
OPINION
Jun 12, 2025 11:30 AM CDT

This Teen Deserves to Be an Emmy Rarity

Owen Cooper deserves to win for Adolescence , writes TV critic Glenn Whipp

(Newser) - This year's Emmy nominations come out next month, and the name of 15-year-old Owen Cooper is expected to be among them. At the Los Angeles Times , TV writer Glenn Whipp makes the case that the central character in the Netflix series Adolescence should be more than nominated—he should...

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