Is AI Making Your Teen Less Capable? The Dependency Crisis Eroding Executive Function in Los Angeles Students

AI dependency is silently eroding the executive function skills that will determine your teen’s success—not just in school, but in a career landscape that’s changing faster than ever before. While parents worry about ChatGPT producing essays, the real crisis is what’s happening to students’ brains when artificial intelligence does their thinking for them.

The AI Generation’s Hidden Problem

The statistics reveal a troubling paradox. According to April 2025 research from the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup, 79% of Gen Z have used AI tools, with 47% using them at least weekly. Yet 49% of students believe AI will challenge their critical thinking skills, and 41% feel anxious about the technology.

They know AI is affecting their ability to think—but they can’t stop using it.

Here’s why this matters for executive function: A groundbreaking 2024 study published in Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence found that adolescents with executive function challenges perceive generative AI as more useful for schoolwork—specifically for completing assignments that require planning, organization, and initiation.

Students who most need to build these skills are outsourcing them instead. By December 2024, College Board research showed that 84% of high school students reported using generative AI for schoolwork. The top uses? Brainstorming, finding research sources, and “polishing writing”—all tasks that, when done independently, build critical executive function skills.

When AI Use Becomes AI Dependency

There’s a crucial difference between using AI as a tool and developing AI dependency:

• Student generates ideas, then asks AI for additional perspectives
• Student writes a draft, then uses AI to check grammar or suggest improvements
• Student gets stuck and uses AI to ask clarifying questions
• Students can explain AI’s suggestions and decide which to implement

Problematic AI Dependency (Crutch):

• A student can’t start without asking AI what to write about
• Student inputs the assignment prompt and accepts the AI’s output with minimal changes
• The student doesn’t understand the content they’re submitting
• Student panics when AI isn’t available or allowed

The distinction? Healthy use supports executive function development. Dependency replaces it.

The Executive Function Skills AI Dependency Erodes

Here’s the paradox: As AI becomes more capable, human executive function skills become more valuable, not less.

The jobs your teen will compete for won’t involve tasks AI can do. According to EY’s 2025 research on Gen Z and AI, future careers will demand skills machines can’t replicate:

• Adaptive problem-solving when situations change unexpectedly
• Strategic thinking about which tools to use and when
• Critical evaluation of AI outputs (which often contain confident errors)
• Creative synthesis of information from multiple sources
• Self-direction when there’s no clear roadmap

Students with strong executive function skills can leverage AI to amplify their capabilities. Students with AI dependency will find themselves unemployable—unable to think, plan, or create without technological assistance.

The career landscape is changing at unprecedented speed. The World Economic Forum estimates 23% of jobs will transform by 2027. Your teen will likely work in careers that don’t currently exist, using technologies not yet invented. The constant? They’ll need executive function skills to:

• Learn new systems quickly and independently
• Adapt strategies when approaches don’t work
• Manage complex projects with competing priorities
• Self-regulate in environments with minimal supervision

These skills don’t develop when AI does the heavy lifting.

The Los Angeles Context

AI dependency hits Los Angeles students particularly hard. The competitive academic environment—from Beverly Hills to Westwood—creates intense pressure. Students at schools near UCLA and USC see classmates using every advantage available. When everyone’s using ChatGPT, abstaining feels like falling behind.

Only 28% of schools have clear AI policies, according to 2024 research. Most Los Angeles schools fall into the 49% where students report having “no policy, or they are unsure if one exists.” Meanwhile, 52% of students say schools should teach them how to use AI—but 90% of principals worry teachers aren’t prepared to guide AI use.

Students are navigating this alone, and many are making choices that compromise their long-term development.

The Solution: Executive Function Coaching for the AI Generation

Students don’t need less AI. They need stronger executive function skills to use them responsibly.

This is where executive function coaching becomes essential—and why human guidance matters more than ever in the digital age.

Coaches Teach the “Think Before AI” Framework

Executive function coaches help students develop a decision protocol:

• Can I start this task independently?
• Do I understand what I’m trying to accomplish?
• If I use AI, can I evaluate whether its response is good?

This metacognitive questioning—done with a real person who asks follow-up questions—builds the self-awareness AI can’t provide.

Human Accountability Creates Sustainable Habits

A Fortune Education report from December 2024 emphasized that students need “guardrails to help them use AI responsibly.” Apps can’t provide these guardrails. Human coaches can. Weekly check-ins create accountability:

• “Did you try starting the assignment before using ChatGPT?”
• “Can you explain the AI’s suggestions in your own words?”
• “What would you do differently if AI weren’t available?”

These conversations build the habit of critical thinking about AI use.

Coaching Strengthens What AI Bypasses

Through structured practice, coaches help students rebuild executive functions that AI dependency has weakened:

• Breaking down assignments manually before consulting AI
• Practicing task initiation without digital assistance
• Generating multiple ideas independently
• Evaluating AI outputs critically rather than accepting them passively

Building Career-Ready Skills

Executive function coaching prepares students for the adaptive, self-directed work the future demands. Students learn to:

• Assess which tools to use for which tasks (strategic thinking)
• Recognize when they’re outsourcing cognition versus amplifying capability
• Build the metacognitive awareness that allows continuous learning
• Develop the self-regulation essential for independent work

The Goal: AI Literacy, Not AI Avoidance

The future demands AI literacy. But literacy means understanding how to use tools effectively—not depending on them to do your thinking for you. As the College Board’s research noted, students should use AI as a “thought partner, not the final product.”

Executive function coaching teaches this distinction. Students learn when AI enhances their work rather than replacing their cognitive development.

The Bottom Line

Students who thrive in the AI era won’t be those who avoid the technology—they’ll be those with strong enough executive function skills to use it wisely and adapt as the landscape evolves. The question isn’t whether your teen should use AI. It’s about whether they’re developing executive function skills to remain irreplaceable in a world where AI is doing more every day.

You’re not alone in this. Research shows that 58% of parents report their children struggle with executive dysfunction. The good news? With the right ADHD coach, students can move forward with clarity and control. They can build the skills needed not just to survive school, but to thrive academically and develop confidence that extends far beyond the classroom.

Is your teen developing AI literacy or AI dependency? Schedule a consultation to discuss how executive function coaching can help them build the thinking skills ChatGPT can’t replace. Call (310) 896-8510 or visit executivefunctionscoach.com.

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Sources & References

1. Walton Family Foundation & Gallup. (2025). “Gen Z Is Using AI—But Reports Gaps in School and Workplace Support.” https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/about-us/newsroom/gen-z-is-using-ai-but-reports-gaps-in-school-and-workplace-support
2. Walton Family Foundation & GSV Ventures. (2025). “How Gen Z Is Navigating AI in School and Work.” https://nextgeninsights.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/resources/gen-z-ai-in-school-and-work/
3. Inside Higher Ed. (2025). “Survey: Gen Z Adults Feel Anxious About AI.” https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/academic-life/2025/04/14/survey-gen-z-adults-feel-anxious-about-ai
4. Chardonnens, S. (2025). “Adapting educational practices for Generation Z: integrating metacognitive strategies and artificial intelligence.” Frontiers in Education, 10:1504726. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1504726/full
5. Mårell-Olsson, E., et al. (2024). “Adolescents’ use and perceived usefulness of generative AI for schoolwork: exploring their relationships with executive functioning and academic achievement.” Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 7:1415782. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence/articles/10.3389/frai.2024.1415782/full
6. Romee, S. (2024). “Gen Z is on the fence about AI in the classroom. That’s a good thing.” Fortune. https://fortune.com/2025/12/18/gen-z-on-the-fence-about-ai-in-the-classroom-college-board/
7. Chan, C.K.Y. & Lee, K.K.W. (2023). “The AI generation gap: Are Gen Z students more interested in adopting generative AI such as ChatGPT in teaching and learning than their Gen X and millennial generation teachers?” Smart Learning Environments, 10(1). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40561-023-00269-3
8. EY. (2025). “How can we upskill Gen Z as fast as we train AI?” https://www.ey.com/en_us/about-us/corporate-responsibility/how-can-we-upskill-gen-z-as-fast-as-we-train-ai