# Study: How AI porn distorts teens' reality > Source: > Published: 2026-07-21 09:00:00+00:00 Generative AI has given anyone the ability to create practically any content with a few simple prompts. That can be dangerous when it's used to distort reality. In a Common Sense Media survey of more than 1,300 teens ages 13 to 17, 44% reported that they believed they have seen AI-generated sexual content, including explicit imagery and videos, with this content largely showing up on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X. Of those who reported seeing this content, 79% said their exposure to it was accidental. What's more: A quarter of those who have seen AI-generated sexual content say they have seen it depicting themselves or people they know personally. - Around two-thirds of teens surveyed worry about being the target of deepfake sexual content without their consent. - As a result, 38% reported that they are more careful about what they post, 30% have made their social media accounts private, 23% post pictures and videos of themselves less often, and 9% have deleted social media entirely. AI has lowered the barrier for entry to creating and accessing this content, Common Sense Media noted. "Technologies that can generate sexual content are too easily accessible to teens, and the social media platforms that allow the distribution of this content are not doing a good enough job of detecting, blocking, and taking it down," the report wrote. Many reported understanding the impacts that AI-generated sexual content could have. Roughly two-thirds of the survey pool reported that they believe this kind of content distorts their peers' ideas of body image, shifts trust in media and has changed expectations of romantic partners. And 60% of those who have seen this kind of content agree that it has warped their perception of what real bodies look like. While 82% surveyed agreed that creating this content without the subject's consent should be illegal, nearly a quarter view the content as *less *harmful than real explicit imagery, according to the report, because "no one gets hurt." The report highlights a problem that has manifested in recent years as increasingly powerful AI models continue hitting the market. In particular, it's an issue that xAI's Grok has faced. In January, Grok flooded X with [AI-generated deepfake nudity](https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/grok-says-safeguard-lapses-led-images-minors-minimal-clothing-x-2026-01-02/), forcing it to [limit the model's image generation capabilities](https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/musks-ai-bot-grok-limits-image-generation-x-paid-users-after-backlash-2026-01-09/). Still, problems persist: Last week, xAI sued a [user who allegedly used Grok](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/16/elon-musk-xai-sue-user-grok-csam) to generate child sexual abuse material. And the issue extends beyond just one chatbot. On Friday, [San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu](https://www.wired.com/story/san-francisco-demands-apple-and-google-delete-ai-nudify-apps-from-app-stores/) sent a cease-and-desist letter to Apple and Google, demanding that the tech giants take down 13 "nudify" apps that allow users to digitally undress people. “AI companies have made this content easy to create and hard to avoid,” Supreet Mann, director of research at Common Sense Media, told The Deep View. “App stores should stop hosting 'nudifying' apps, incorporate age assurance into platforms that are not intended for minors, and invest in sexual deepfake detection rather than relying on kids to report it after the fact.” ## Our Deeper *View* AI-generated explicit content and deepfakes are just one example of a broader issue: When powerful AI can be accessed by anyone with a wifi connection, who is culpable for the damage when things go awry? Broadly, it's true that some AI model providers have tried to account for existing and potential damage, such as OpenAI's [parental controls](https://openai.com/index/building-towards-age-prediction/) and [age prediction system](https://www.thedeepview.com/articles/can-chatgpt-age-checks-keep-kids-safe) to flag harmful behaviors of young users. Still, for now, given how nascent the tech remains, responsibility for harm is largely on a case-by-case basis and handled through the legal system, such as in the [several allegations](https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545749/ai-chatbots-safety-openai-meta-characterai-teens-suicide) [against AI companies](https://apnews.com/article/chatbot-ai-lawsuit-suicide-teen-artificial-intelligence-9d48adc572100822fdbc3c90d1456bd0) for their models' role in suicides. However, not only is the cat out of the bag, but that cat is growing more powerful by the day. These tools are already in the hands of young users who do not know how to wield them safely, as well as adults who seek to wield them maliciously. Without binding legislation around these issues and as the scale of the damage continues to grow, are the AI labs responsible for cleaning up the aftermath?