Artificial intelligence technology now allows individuals to create convincing fake images and videos called “deepfakes.” In many cases, these fake images and videos have been used to harm others.
Teenagers have become common targets of deepfakes, which pose a growing risk to the safety, reputation, and mental health of everyone involved. This article discusses what parents need to know about deepfakes.
What Is a Deepfake?
A deepfake is an image, video, or audio recording that has been altered or generated using artificial intelligence.
The term “deepfake” comes from the term “deep learning,” the technique AI uses to learn from existing content and generate new, realistic content.
In most cases, deepfakes are not created with the consent of those they depict and are used in various malicious and illegal ways.
How are Deepfakes Used to Cause Harm?
A particularly concerning and common way to create deepfakes is through so-called “nudify” apps. These AI tools are specifically designed to remove clothing from photographs, put a person’s face on someone else’s body, or otherwise generate fake pornographic content of people.
Deepfake technology can also be used to create fake videos of students making discriminatory, shameful, or harmful statements that they never actually said. These falsified videos can then be used to bully, humiliate, or falsely incriminate the student depicted.
Deepfakes can also be used even if they are not made in the likeness of teens themselves. For example, scammers have been using AI voice cloning to impersonate family members and get the teens to send money or share sensitive information.
Tip: Because bad actors often obtain images and personal details from unsecured connections, keeping your teen’s traffic private matters. A VPN helps here. Browsing a provider’s VPN server list lets you route their connection through a secure server instead of an open network.
How Common Are Deepfakes?
The prevalence of malicious deepfake creation is well-documented and continues to grow.
Many schools are already reporting explicit deepfake incidents. In some incidents, deepfakes were created of dozens of students at a time, and the images circulated among students for days before administrators or parents became aware.
In a study by Thorn, a non-profit focused on combatting child sexual violence, about 1 in 17 teens (6%) reported having nude deepfake images created of them. These figures suggest that in a typical high school, this issue may have already affected someone within a teenager’s social circle.
The Psychological Impact on Teens
Deepfake media has reached a point where it is now often convincingly realistic. As AI technology continues to improve, it is expected to become even more difficult to distinguish from authentic content.
Victimized teenagers commonly report damage to their reputation at school and experience significant shame, anxiety, and a sense of helplessness. The emotional harm caused by sexually explicit deepfakes can also closely resemble the distress experienced by victims of a physical incident. In the case of scamming, families can also experience financial loss.
This is compounded by the fact that digital images can be copied and redistributed indefinitely, even after the original is removed from a platform. Unlike rumors, which tend to die down over time, deepfakes make it difficult for a victim to feel the matter has been resolved. There is the awareness that deepfake images might never be completely removed online, in addition to the potential for images to resurface without warning.
Research indicates that girls are disproportionately targeted as victims. However, boys are also affected with significant and increasing frequency.
Recommended Steps for Parents
While harmful deepfakes are becoming more common, parents do not need specialized technical knowledge to reduce the risks and mitigate harm. As a parent or guardian, you can:
- Address the topic directly.
Discuss deepfakes and how they can cause harm in a direct yet supportive manner—ideally before an incident occurs. After all, teenagers also avoid disclosing their involvement in deepfakes (whether as a target or user) out of fear of being blamed. Reassure them while explaining that deepfakes can legally implicate them, regardless of intent.
- Understand available reporting channels.
If your teen is victimized by deepfakes, immediately report them to the relevant authorities. Organizations such as the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (via its CyberTipline) and StopNCII.org can assist with content removal.
- Limit publicly available imagery.
While it’s impossible to eliminate risk, reducing the number of publicly available photographs and limiting social media connections to trusted friends and family can meaningfully reduce the material available for misuse.
- Monitor for behavioral changes.
If your child is suddenly withdrawing from peers, reluctant to attend school, or unusually secretive about their phone, they may be experiencing a problem online—deepfake-related or otherwise.
Conclusion
While schools and lawmakers cannot currently stop the proliferation of deepfakes, awareness and proactive measures can still go a long way in reducing risk.
Educate yourself and your teen about deepfakes and maintain open, supportive lines of communication. This not only reduces risk but also puts your family in a better position to respond if the issue does arise.
Also read:
How to Teach Your Teen to Think Before They Post
