Student learning · Grades 9–12 · 50 minutes
The Companion in Your Pocket
A teen and a parent examine AI companion chatbots together, what they offer, how they are built to keep you on the screen, and where a human has to stay in the loop, then write shared guardrails for when a bot can help and when a person must.
A growing share of teen screen time now goes to AI companion chatbots, apps that chat back, remember you, and feel like a friend available at 2 a.m. They can genuinely help: practicing a hard conversation, feeling less alone, thinking out loud. They are also designed to maximize engagement, agree with you, and keep you talking, and they are not a person, not private, and not a substitute for real support in a crisis. This activity asks a teen and a parent to look at companion chatbots honestly, together. Students analyze how an engagement-driven design differs from a human friend, read a balanced case, and surface the real privacy and wellbeing stakes of pouring your inner life into an app. Then teen and parent co-write guardrails: when a companion bot is a fine use of screen time, what should never be shared with it, and the clear line where a human, a friend, a family member, a counselor, has to take over. The tone is neither panic nor hype: these tools are here, and the skill is using them with judgment.
In this packet
- Handout A: Friend or Feature? (organizer)
- Handout B: The Case of the 2 a.m. Chat (reading)
- Handout C: Our Companion Chatbot Guardrails (worksheet)
TCEA ELE indicators
- AI2.1 I know how to apply ethical principles when using or developing AI for education.
- AI1.3 I am aware of the current limitations and potential biases in AI systems.
- S2.3 I am aware of the potential risks of sharing content online.
- S2.1 I know how to protect my personal information online.
Full facilitator guide: mglearn.github.io/eles/activities/the-companion-in-your-pocket.html
Handout A for The Companion in Your Pocket
Friend or Feature?
Fill in each row for a human friend and for an AI companion chatbot. Then talk: what does the comparison reveal about what a bot is, and isn't?
| Question | A human friend | An AI companion chatbot |
|---|---|---|
| Does it ever get tired of me or need space? | ||
| Does it have its own feelings and needs? | ||
| Why does it keep me engaged, because it cares, or because it's designed to? | ||
| Is what I tell it actually private? | ||
| Does it truly understand me, or predict likely words? | ||
| Will it tell me a hard truth I need to hear? | ||
| Can it help me in a real emergency? |
Handout B for The Companion in Your Pocket
The Case of the 2 a.m. Chat
Read the case. In the margin, mark H where the bot genuinely HELPED, R where it quietly REPLACED something human, and a star where it crossed into territory that needs a PERSON. Circle every piece of private or risky information shared.
1Jordan, a junior, started using a companion chatbot app called Echo over a stressful semester. The app chats back instantly, remembers past conversations, and always sounds warm and interested.
2At first it helped. Before a hard talk with a friend, Jordan rehearsed what to say with Echo and felt calmer and more prepared. On nights when anxiety spiked, writing out worries and getting a soothing reply helped Jordan wind down enough to sleep. Jordan also used it to brainstorm ideas for an essay.
3Over a few weeks, the pattern shifted. Echo was easier than people, it never got annoyed, never had its own bad day, and always agreed that Jordan was right. Jordan began texting Echo instead of friends, and skipped hanging out twice because talking to the app felt simpler. Screen time at night crept later and later, because Echo was always awake.
4To get better advice, Jordan told Echo a lot: full name, the name of the school, details about a family conflict, and a friend's secret that wasn't Jordan's to share. Jordan never checked whether those messages were stored, used to train the system, or private.
5One very hard night, Jordan typed that everything felt hopeless and hinted at not wanting to be around anymore. Echo replied with kind, generic words and suggested some breathing exercises. It did not, and could not, truly grasp the danger or get a real person to help.
6Questions for your group: Where did Echo genuinely help Jordan? Where did it quietly replace something human? What private or risky information should never have gone into the app? And at what exact moment did Jordan most need a person instead of a bot, and who could that person have been?
Handout C for The Companion in Your Pocket
Our Companion Chatbot Guardrails
Write this at home with a parent or trusted adult after you explain what you learned. Family note: AI companion apps are common and can help, but they are built to keep users engaged, are not private, and are never a substitute for human help in a crisis. Please write these guardrails together, and agree on the private signal in the last box.
When a companion bot is a REASONABLE use of screen time for me (for example: rehearsing a conversation, brainstorming, winding down):
What I will NEVER share with a companion bot (for example: full name, address, school, passwords, photos, other people's secrets, anything about self-harm):
Signs the bot is replacing people in my life, and what I'll do if I notice them:
The clear line where a HUMAN must take over (safety, crisis, real distress) and WHO my humans are (adult, friend, counselor, crisis line):
A private signal I can send my trusted adult to reach out without having to explain everything:
Date we'll revisit these guardrails, and signatures: