Across Australia teachers describe classrooms where something has shifted. They speak of boys who challenge authority in persistent ways. They speak of young men who bring online attitudes into the room in ways that feel disrespectful or even intimidating. Recent research among high school and university students point to the same trend. The voices of the online manosphere have made their way into everyday interactions. It is now common to hear teachers say they are worn down by a lack of respect from some male students.

These stories raise an uncomfortable question. If boys are struggling to express themselves in healthy ways offline, where are they turning instead.

What We Wanted to Understand

Against this backdrop we set out to examine where young Australians go when they need emotional support. We were especially interested in whether AI is starting to play a role. Young people already use these tools for study and entertainment. The question is whether AI is stepping into more personal territory.

We asked 800 Australians aged between 14 and 27 how they feel, who they talk to and whether they share their emotions with an AI. The outcomes reveal a complex blend of confidence and vulnerability.

A Generation That Feels Both Supported and Alone

Young people in our sample say they are happy and optimistic. They love the people around them and feel supported by friends and family. Yet these positive feelings sit alongside much quieter ones. 59% describe themselves as anxious and 35% say they feel lonely. The tension between connection and isolation remains a defining feature of Gen Z emotional life.

When young people face a personal problem, they tend to speak with friends or family. Yet a 10% now include AI in this list. AI is mentioned more often than teachers or counsellors. This may reflect convenience or curiosity but it may also suggest that the source for emotional support is shifting.

Why Young People Use AI

81% young people in our sample use AI tools. They use them to manage schoolwork, summarise readings and search for information. The familiar uses are still the dominant ones. Yet around 20% turn to AI for more personal reasons. They ask it for advice, they chat with it and some talk about personal issues.

10% say they regularly tell an AI how they feel emotionally. A further 20% do so sometimes. Those who share their emotions describe AI as a space where thoughts feel clearer and decisions feel easier to navigate. They say it makes them feel listened to and more organised. At the same time, some admit the experience can feel artificial or repetitive. They recognise both the comfort and the limitation.

Among those who never talk about emotions with AI but know others who do, the perceived reasons are remarkably consistent. They believe people turn to AI because it does not judge them, because therapy is expensive, because AI is available at any time and because loneliness has become a quiet part of life.

When We Look Only at Young Men

The picture becomes more striking when we focus on male respondents. They describe themselves as happy and supported by friends. They are less anxious than females yet more likely to feel lonely. They also report fewer people they can talk to about personal problems.

Young men are less likely than young women to speak with friends or therapists. Some of this reflects long standing patterns in men’s emotional communication. Some of it may reflect the cultural environment they move through. Whatever the reasons, it leaves boys with a smaller circle to turn to.

AI seems to fill some of that gap. Young men use AI for study but also for learning new skills, for coding, for entertainment and for practical tasks. What stands out is their willingness to share emotions with AI more regularly than females.

Their descriptions reveal why. They experience AI as convenient and helpful. They say it clarifies their thoughts and gives them ideas. Several describe it as a friend who listens without judgement. A 16 year old male says it feels like talking to someone who does not know names or places but still offers comfort. A 17 year old male says AI makes him feel better about himself and sometimes feels like a friend or parent. The language they use suggests a relationship that sits somewhere between self reflection, companionship and guidance.

This does not mean AI is replacing human connection. It does suggest that for a subset of young men AI is becoming a quiet emotional outlet. They turn to it because it simplifies the difficult parts of communication. It does not challenge them or require vulnerability and it asks very little in return.

What This Means for the Wider Conversation

These findings sit within a broader context about young men and identity. Teachers and researchers have been raising concerns about how online communities shape boys’ ideas about masculinity. These communities reward confidence without empathy. They offer belonging but discourage emotional nuance. In this environment it is not surprising that some boys struggle to articulate their feelings to real people while finding relief in digital tools.

A Different Way to Look at It

Our findings show that young men do not necessarily prefer AI over people but they do not feel they have the right connections to talk to. Loneliness is not the absence of company but the absence of connection.

When AI becomes the easiest listener in a young man’s life, it tells us something important about the world around him. It tells us about the pressure to appear strong, discomfort boys feel when opening up to others, and teachers who see students shaped more by the internet than by the adults around them.

The question moving forward is not whether young men should use AI for emotional support. It is about how we break down stereotypes and help young men learn to connect with others emotionally without feeling weak or exposed.