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Chatbots Are Becoming Soulmates. Is This the New Mental Health Crisis?

Emotional Fast Food: Why Easy Connection Isn’t Nourishment



I stepped into a local coffee shop last week. Once inside the cozy interior I grabbed a cold brew (my fav), staked out a sturdy oak chair near the window (with a great view), and picked up a photography magazine someone had left behind.

I wasn’t really reading the words on the page. Rather I was flipping through the pages, letting the stunning images of mountains and brilliant blue bodies of water wash away the day’s stressors.

There’s nothing like looking at stunning nature photography when you crave a dose of calm. Agree?


A Love Letter to Code?

That’s when something caught my eye and, mostly my ears. An animated college-age girl, wearing a beautiful floral scarf was sitting behind me and chatting away in excited tones.

As she bantered away, her feet tapped on the floor in excitement, immersed in her own ecosystem.

At first, I thought she was carrying on a conversation with someone on her smart phone. but as the conversation grew louder, it was clear she was talking not to a flesh and blood human. She was engaging with a chat bot.

Now don’t get me wrong, I try not to listen to other people’s conversations. But despite trying to get back to my photography magazine, I couldn’t help but hear her voice teasingly share sweet nothings with the chatbot.


 
 
 

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