Three high school friends from Alexandria, Virginia—Daniil Prokofev and Ashwath Muppa, both 17, and Isaac Leetyn, 18—are making headlines for creating SafeWalkr, an app that shows the best and safest routes for walking or biking to school. After Prokofev experienced the danger of navigating home from school on foot, he enlisted his friends to create something made for pedestrians rather than drivers. The three teens got to work, won their school’s 24-hour hackathon, and continued working for months to perfect the app. SafeWalkr uses data from county records, Google Maps, and other sources, while considering important factors like traffic and the availability of sidewalks. This month, the app went live for students at 14 schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, with plans to expand to more soon. The timing could not be better: In recent weeks, Fairfax County has seen multiple accidents involving cars colliding with students on bikes or scooters, including one fatality.

A new study of more than 2,300 grade 6 to 8 students found that the majority use AI chatbots, and their use was increasing. Researchers found that the more students used AI, the more they had symptoms of social anxiety and depression. One in five middle schoolers admitted they relied on AI for “emotional companionship.” While some students turned to AI because they felt lonely, the study showed that it actually tended to increase their feelings of loneliness. One study author said they found two to four kids in most classes who said they preferred chatting with AI rather than people. Since the preteen and teen years are a crucial time for social and emotional development, experts are calling on schools, parents, and companies to put up safeguards around the use of AI by young people.

An increasing number of young people are taking glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist drugs for obesity and diabetes. A new study of more than 2,000 patients ages 10 to 17 found that one in six developed nutritional deficiencies within a year of starting GLP-1s. The most common problem was vitamin D deficiency, found in one in eight study participants. Lack of vitamin D causes issues like muscle weakness, fatigue, and mood problems. Since GLP-1 drugs decrease food intake, they make it easier for people to miss out on key vitamins and minerals. That is especially important for teens. According to study author Dr. Justin Ryder, “Nutrients such as vitamin D, iron, and calcium are of particular concern during adolescence, when deficiencies may have lasting implications for skeletal health and overall development.”

Today, a record number of teens are obese, but health experts see some hope in the number of teens turning to sports to stay fit. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 8.4 million American teens are playing high school sports, more than ever before. Girls are driving the increase. Their participation jumped 3.2 percent over the past year, compared to 0.8 percent for boys. The fastest-growing sport is girls’ flag football, with participation growing by 49 percent in just one year. Thousands of schools across 40 states now offer the sport, and 24 states recognize it as a state-sanctioned varsity sport. That momentum is continuing beyond high school, too. More and more colleges are offering girls’ flag football programs. The sport will also make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, to pay $567 million into a fund supporting youth mental health treatment and prevention. The court found that features designed to keep teens scrolling—such as endless feeds, recommendations, and notifications—helped contribute to problems like anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and self-harm. The judge called Meta’s platforms a “significant contributing cause” of a teen mental health crisis in the state. Meta must also introduce stronger protections for young users, including limits on screen time, chatbots, and contact between adults and minors. The case highlights growing concerns that social media companies have a responsibility to design their apps with teens’ health and safety in mind.

Among American teens, rates of drug and alcohol abuse and mental health issues are holding steady or trending downward, according to data from the new National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Compared to five years ago, teens are using less marijuana, vaping less nicotine, and drinking less alcohol. Fewer teens are reporting symptoms of depression and thoughts of suicide. However, the teens that are struggling often do not get the help they need. Last year, 3.7 million teens dealt with major depression, and two in five did not receive any mental health treatment. And while nearly 2 million teens needed substance use care, four out of five got no treatment for their addiction or drug abuse.