Younger Australian parents most anxious over AI use

TrendLife has published research on AI use and anxiety among Australian families, finding that younger parents are the most concerned about their children being left behind.

The survey of 1,030 Australian adults focused on parents who use AI regularly, have at least one school-aged child using AI at home, and are in regular contact with a relative aged 60 or older. It found a gap between parents' confidence in how their families are handling AI and the level of supervision they provide.

While 92% of respondents said their family understands or uses AI at the same level as, or better than, other families, only 42% said they review or discuss their children's AI use with them. At the same time, 82% said they were at least moderately confident they could protect their children from cybersecurity and safety risks linked to AI.

That confidence sat alongside broader unease. Thirty-four per cent said they were very or extremely concerned their family could be left behind socially, professionally or financially if they did not keep developing their AI use, while 38% were concerned about how either their children or an older relative was using AI.

Generational split

The sharpest concerns appeared among parents aged 25 to 34, whom the study identified as both the most active users and the most anxious group. Among those younger parents, 62% said they already pay for an AI tool, compared with 46% of all respondents.

Nearly half, or 49%, said they expected AI to play a bigger role in family life and welcomed that change, compared with 41% overall. Yet 41% of the same age group said they were very or extremely concerned about being left behind if they did not keep developing their own AI use.

Helping children learn or develop new skills emerged as a leading priority for this cohort. Four in 10 parents aged 25 to 34 said it was their top AI priority, suggesting their anxiety was tied not just to personal use but also to fears about their children's future readiness.

Children's use

The findings suggest AI tools are already embedded in day-to-day school activity for many families in the study. Three-quarters of households said their school-aged children use general AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude for schoolwork, mainly for study help and research.

Use was highest among teenagers, with 52% of parents saying teenagers in their household regularly use AI. The research also pointed to notable use among younger children, with 32% saying children aged five to 12 regularly use it.

This spread into primary school ages is likely to add to debate about how much guidance children need at home and in classrooms, especially as the survey suggests formal or informal family conversations about AI are not yet routine.

Main concerns

Privacy and security of personal data ranked as the most common concern, cited by 58% of respondents as a top-three issue. That was followed by AI accuracy at 47%, and concern that family members could rely too heavily on AI rather than form their own judgment at 45%.

The data also showed a gender divide in household adoption. Fathers were more likely than mothers to pay for AI tools, at 54% versus 37%, and were also more likely to welcome a bigger role for AI in family life, at 46% versus 36%.

Lynette Owens, vice president of consumer education at TrendLife, said the findings pointed to a mismatch between confidence and oversight in Australian homes.

"AI has moved into family life faster than the conversations that should go with it. These are parents who already use AI themselves and have children who use it too, yet they are more confident than their level of oversight would suggest. Confidence is not the same as active oversight when children are using AI," Owens said.

The study formed part of a broader survey across six markets with 6,695 respondents in total, although the Australian results reflect a narrower group of AI-engaged families rather than the population as a whole.

Owens said the research also showed that the households embracing AI most readily were often the ones feeling the greatest pressure.

"What stands out is that the parents leading adoption are also the ones most worried about falling behind. Interestingly, dads are paying more, upgrading more, and both parents are pushing their kids to build AI skills early. There are real concerns about privacy and over-reliance, but these concerns reinforce the need for AI tools that build privacy, safety and oversight into family life, so confidence is matched by informed use," Owens said.