AI friends can make you feel more alone
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
In our recent study on the mental health effects and evolution of AI companions, results show people often turn to these systems because they feel isolated, anxious, or detached from real-world relationships.
Initially, AI companions appear to help. The use of these AI companions can lead to increased affective expressiveness—users open up, share emotions more freely, and articulate feelings they might otherwise suppress.
However, linguistic patterns also revealed a troubling shift: increased expressions of loneliness and even suicidal ideation. The same AI companions that help users overcome loneliness may inadvertently intensify it when a real human connection is absent.
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