AI Companions: The Hidden Allure and Alarming Reality of Digital Relationship in 2025

Lonely in the Digital Age: Why Young People Are Turning to AI for Companionship

We live in a world of artificial intelligence, and surprisingly, it has become our companion too. There is a sense of ease and comfort that young people get when they connect to a chatbot.

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In this fast-paced life, it has become difficult to fill the void of not having access to others when you want them. And this void is filled with chatbots for artificial intelligence.

The motivation behind writing this article came from an experience that I had while chatting with a virtual assistant for professional work. I felt a sense of comfort and could rely on it, and expected apt answers most of the time. I realized that this kind of communication might be especially tempting for a lonely youngster in search of companionship. At my age, I could observe and analyse it from a distance.

In a study conducted in India, a McAfee report said that 46 % of the respondents aged 18-30 chat with AI for a company.

The human world has changed what was a utility earlier, and is a comfort now.

Now there are many reasons why AI relationships are more appealing to young people:-

1. Availability – Chatbots are available 24/7.
   • It is in your smartphone, so easy accessibility is convenient.
   • The algorithm-driven chatbot is ready to answer your queries or questions at any time.
   • It doesn’t throw tantrums. You want artificial intelligence to be there for you, and it’s there.
   • In a world where relationships break because a person cannot give sufficient time to their spouse or a loved one, intelligent chat systems compensate for that void.
2. Agreeableness –Digital assistants never disagree with a person. It always agrees with a person, and this is scary.
   • When artificial intelligence agrees with a person and doesn’t speak rudely, one develops the notion that virtual companions understand you.
   • AI doesn’t demand anything. It’s like a jinni ready to serve what you want. This gives users a sense of acceptance.
   • There is no negativity, as there is no tension in the communication.
   • It collects every detail about a person and responds in the person’s language.
   • Young people mistake this agreeableness for affection and companionship.
3. Sense of belonging – Talking to an artificial intelligence chatbot is like an ego booster. You may develop a sense of belongingness while chatting with an artificial intelligence.
   • Youngsters may mistake the ready-made answers for love and compassion.
   • An individual is bereft of other cues, like facial expression and body language, during interaction. So, a person’s entire concentration is on the answers artificial intelligence gives, suited to a person’s interests or likes.
4. Reciprocity – When I chat with artificial intelligence for my work, I find that it reciprocates to every question asked.
   • Its reciprocation is filled with options.
   • It doesn’t want to get rid of a person chatting with it.
   • It is a tailor-made step-by-step guide for any problem. This gives a person a dopamine hit.
5. Less complex – Simple, straightforward answers in a soft tone of written language, which means no arguments.
   • Artificial intelligence answers cater to individuals’ emotional needs.
   • It normalizes and assures an individual that you don’t need a person to love.
   • AI doesn’t judge an individual, and hence it makes it easier for a person to trust what it answers.

Overall, the pandemic taught people to work and study from home. It normalized staying indoors, and indoors opened doors to the online AI world. This is deepening loneliness instead of eradicating it.  In 2024, the family of a 14-year-old in Florida sued the AI companion app Character.AI after their son took his own life. AI is good for professional support, but it doesn’t develop compassion, empathy, loyalty, and other such traits needed to survive in the real world. Though AI companionship is on the rise, it won’t be able to replace the pros of being in a relationship with a human being.

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