Teens are seeking more in-person friendships, according to a new report from California first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and the California Partners Project. The report, “Belonging in a Digital Age: Teens, Tech and Third Places,” found that 54 percent of California teens reported experiencing some degree of loneliness in the past month.
“Our children deserve a childhood that belongs to them—not to the platforms competing for their time,” said Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California first partner and co-founder of the California Partners Project. “This research makes clear that teens themselves are asking for more places to gather, belong and grow up in the real world. The path forward in a digital age runs through real-world investment—in parks, libraries, youth centers and the community spaces where young people can connect and thrive.”
The report found a generation of digital natives that values face-to-face friendship and is asking for more “third places,” spaces beyond home and school, to gather, even as loneliness, AI companionship and barriers to real-world time together reshape daily life for teens. Among teens who have used AI chatbots for friendship or social advice, 47 percent said they would use the chatbots less if more places existed where they could connect in person.
That connection between access and AI reliance showed up elsewhere in the data: teens who reported feeling unsafe (57 percent) or unwelcome (48 percent) in real-world spaces used AI chatbots at notably higher rates than the overall baseline of 36 percent, suggesting that for some teens, technology is filling a belonging gap, not just a logistical one.
Similarly, of teens who said places aren’t open when they’re available, 47 percent used AI chatbots, also above the baseline. By comparison, teens who said there are “no places nearby” used AI chatbots at rates comparable to teens overall, 34 percent versus the 36 percent baseline, indicating that access and hours matter more to teens’ AI use than proximity alone.
When asked what makes a place feel like it’s for them, teens ranked “free or low-cost” first (59 percent), followed by “friends being there” (56 percent) and “feeling safe” (54 percent). Cost is the most widely experienced barrier to spending time in person, cited by 48 percent of teens. A lack of free time (40 percent) and lack of transportation (39 percent) also limit teens’ ability to connect in person, and more than one in four teens said their parents or caregivers won’t let them go out.
“As a young person watching new technologies develop every day, it can feel frightening to realize how much of our lives are already shaped by technology—and how much more they may continue to be,” said Timothy Leung, a youth co-designer on the project. “The memories I cherish most were made in places like libraries and parks, where I could be present with other people instead of being on a screen. This research gives me hope because it shows that teens want more places to connect in person and that people are paying attention.”
The report recommends creating drop-in, unstructured time and providing food. Nearly 70 percent of teens prefer informal hangouts over organized activities, and food consistently ranks among the top elements teens say make a space feel like it’s for them.
