Artificial Intelligence appears to have started replacing more than just office workers as AI chatbots escalate to start filling places which were earlier reserved only for your best friend. Teens have started to turn to AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Replika, and Character.AI for comfort and to receive counsel. While they give seemingly reasonable advice, it may leave human users emotionally unsettled.
According to a Common Sense Media survey, 72 per cent of teens in the US have used AI companions at least once, and for some, it is becoming more than a curiosity. As per the report, it is a habitual behaviour for about half of US teens aged 13 to 17, where 13 per cent claim to use it daily and another 21 per cent a few times a week. When surveyed, teens say AI “never gets bored”, “never judges”, and frankly, “you’re always right, always interesting, a perfect emotional wingman.”
Psychologists are now flagging cases where teens form emotional or romantic attachments to AI bots. In Hyderabad, clinicians report patients treating chatbots as confidants or partners, sometimes choosing AI over friendship, and escaping real-world challenges. The issue isn’t limited to India; it’s a global emotional bandwidth crisis.