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Around 1 in 5 young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice, survey finds (www.nbcnews.com)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/health@lemmy.world
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Experts worry that some young people are turning to AI bots during mental health crises, which the tech isn’t made to handle. An author of the survey said regulations are needed.

Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed, according to a new study.

The findings, from the research institute RAND, represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey. At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November, the results of which were published Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

“It’s a sad number, because you’d hope that young people would have the sorts of supportive relationships that they would feel comfortable and empowered reaching out to those around them,” said Ryan McBain, a senior policy researcher at RAND and the lead author of the study.

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[–] 2 points 3 months ago (23 children)

My point isn't about what technology does, but about what people do. Nothing we do will stop people from seeking therapy through chat bots. We now have something like 60 years of evidence of this, is the point.

If you see this situation and you think, we better stop people from getting therapy from chat bots, to me that's the same as people who think good sex education for teens is to only teach them abstinence. Like, I get that you have a moral stance, but we need a workable solution that deals with reality.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (22 children)

    You can talk to real people...

    7cups.com, for instance. And plenty of others. I suggest 7cups because of the high level of moderation. Many others lack any real (non-ai) mods.

    My stance isn't really moral. Eliza was simply never meant to provide any level of therapy. Though asking questions is better than unsolicited advice.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (21 children)

    You can talk to real people…

    And according to this post we're commenting on, 1 in 5 youths are using chat bots for mental health advice. It's not going to be the case that all those youths never realized that they could talk to a real person. They talk to a chat bot because they prefer talking to a chat bot. And again, we have something like 60 years of evidence that a lot of people prefer talking to a chat bot for stuff like this.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (20 children)

    That's not my experience.... Not a lot anyways. Like 7cups has an AI bot, but I really don't think many people use it

    People generally want actual human connection, genuine empathy. Though sometimes a chat bot is useful in a journaling sense, I'd imagine. I can't see people actually getting meaningful support from a chat bot, as they don't tend to ask good questions. You would probably get bad advice instead.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 months ago (18 children)

    That’s not my experience….

    One of the most common fundamental mistakes people make when dealing with other people is the assumption that the other person thinks just like them. "If they only knew what I know, and if they had access to the same tools I use, they would definitely 100% make the same decisions as me." But that's simply not true. I'm confident that you see examples of this on a daily basis.

    People generally want actual human connection, genuine empathy.

    Even neurodivergent people? I don't think that's the only exception, either. Some people are simply intensely private, and they don't want other people to know about their problems, even anonymously.

    A whole hell of a lot of people are introverts, and feel stressed with the expectation to talk to other people. Based on your not seeing people wanting to avoid human conversation, I have to assume you're an extrovert, but I might be wrong about that. But if you are an extrovert, it's not surprising that an introvert doesn't make any sense to you.

    There are people who probably wouldn't mind talking to people, but who don't like the expectation that they'll have to keep talking, or prefer the convenience of chatting at their own pace. Maybe they prefer a chat bot over a human because you can send it a chat line once per hour and it won't be confused.

    These are just a few reasons that I quickly thought of that people might prefer a chat bot. I'm guessing there are many other reasons. If you approach the concept with empathy, you'll probably be able to think of reasons, yourself.

    I can’t see people actually getting meaningful support from a chat bot, as they don’t tend to ask good questions. You would probably get bad advice instead.

    Yes, now we're back to the point of the post. That chat bots are not built to deal with this and so therefore are likely giving bad advice. Thus, why I said we need a LLM chat bot that is specifically engineered to give good therapeutic advice.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (17 children)

    Again, you used the term "a lot". Which is ambiguous but implies "a, well, lot."

    Yes, there's some people with mental health issues that sometimes prefer a bot over a human. This isn't healthy.... And the prefer is doing heavy lifting. The bot is there 24/7... People aren't. The peers I support overwhelmingly prefer me (or another real human.)

    I do peer support. AI isn't taking away jobs in mental health anytime soon. I'm just a volunteer.

    While it's common to talk to chat bots, again, most people don't find them genuinely supportive. This is from years of experience as a 5-Star listener on 7cups. :)

    I welcome you to join. We can always use more members and listeners.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (14 children)

    Just chiming in. It sounds like you're disregarding what he's getting at, chalking it up as unhealthy to be the kind of person who doesn't feel comfortable sharing private issues with others. I was most definitely the kind of teen who couldn't feel comfortable talking to people about my problems, and even now I feel that way about a few of them. There's a real comfort in talking with something that doesn't really "exist" just to get your feelings sorted without the threat of judgement or scrutiny from others. For as long as that remains an option, someone is going to want to utilize it.

    Speaking as myself, I would never want to use 7cups if I have need for an outlet for particularly difficult thoughts or emotions. My reasons are private, which is precisely the matter being discussed here. Your only solution, to seek an alternative to a chatbot, outright would not work for me. I'm more likely to do nothing at all if my options are "do nothing" or "talk to someone". In my case, I would much rather there be an effective, private chatbot that is capable of handling these difficult conversations than deal with a random person whom I feel no comfort sharing anything with at all. You might find a desire for emotional privacy unhealthy, but that's what I have. I'll probably use a chatbot to circumvent a person, especially when I have no person available. Would you rather that chatbot fuck me over or handle things with care?

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (6 children)

    Just to add something: most people don't need or benefit from an AI therapy service like this, so even if we accept that such a service is necessary for some people, you would never, ever, ever want this service to be popular.

    If it's popular, then it's being used by people who don't need it. If people are using it when they don't need it, then we're engendering a kind of asocial, learned helplessness into them that is really, really destructive to society long term.

    At best, I would want this to strictly be on a case by case basis.

    Would you rather that chatbot handle things with care?

    This is just an informed personal opinion, but I don't think it's possible for an LLM to do this.

    Truly, I think Eliza would be better because Eliza doesn't give advice.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (3 children)

    Agreed on the popularity. Some things are better off rare. Cars became popular, and now American infrastructure is fucked. We should always tread carefully.

    As far as an AI handling anything with care, frankly I trust it more with some cases. I don't trust people to make the right calls when presented with a combination of certain traits, especially when we get into areas where bias and ignorance are strong in the culture. At least an AI won't get you institutionalized or thrown into a camp where people try to "fix" you when you bring up an issue where that's their go-to answer to your problems. People can be cruel. AI can be careless. One of those problems feels more solvable to me.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (2 children)

    What I mean is that I don't think the AI problem is solvable. Like, mathematically.

    The problems LLMs have are fundamental to the approach used to build them.

    They are built to encode an understanding of the syntax of language such that they know the word 'kill' usually doesn't follow the word 'help'. Usually.

    But they cannot be taught the semantic meaning, which means they do not have the faculties to evaluate the quality of any advice they're giving. This is why it's said that everything they say is a hallucination.

    If it can be taught how to syntactically frame the idea 'to kill' as if it were a good solution to one's problems, but not why it shouldn't do that, that seems really, really dangerous to me. Not about killing specifically, but regarding every bad advice blind spot we haven't thought of.

    Anyway. I didn't even mean for this reply to be this long. I do sympathize with the difficulty of people's bigotries. I just don't think AI is the answer to it. A stronger social foundation for medicine, therapy and help would be way, way better.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    Oh Jesus fucking Christ. Gambling is so popular they are grooming your children to gamble by watching sports making them think they can be a millionaire for watching hockey. Your pearl clutching over this is ridiculous.

    If it’s popular that’s probably the best outcome compared to the popular gambling and the popular drinking…

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  • [–] 0 points 3 months ago (6 children)

    You need professional help. 7cups offers that as well, but it costs money.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 months ago (4 children)

    Gee thanks. Great listening.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)

    I'm not on fucking lemmy to listen to people in an active listening context.... But I'll strongman you:

    Again, you would do better with genuine (even professional) human help. Chat bots are often sycophantic and even worse. You're just digging deeper into your hole. And even though you've dug deep...

    You literally reached out to a human to rationalize your thinking.... What does that tell you?

    This is what a good listener does that bots don't.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago

    I actually agree with you. Usually, people are a great resource to have that AI can't replace. If we use AI for every issue, it'll atrophy our ability to solve them ourselves. However, there are certain issues that are just private matters, and people aren't equipped to handle them like you might want. The only thing I'd want from an AI on those matters is a reminder that I'm not broken, that I'm human, and that I'm not as alone as I think I am. AI does that fine. It also suggests speaking with a human at every opportunity. It'll always be on the individual whether they do that. I wouldn't tout AI as a replacement to therapy or anything of the like, but I do like that people who feel the way I do have an outlet for when other people aren't the answer. And I promise you, there are plenty of examples where other people aren't the answer. Go back a few decades, and other people could give you a lobotomy for your mental health. Things are better today, but shit with that same flavor is still on the table. The trust isn't there.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    One of the biggest barriers to getting help is the expectation that reaching out will result in being judged, dismissed, or talked down to.

    Imagine someone is already struggling, finally works up the nerve to say “I’m having a hard time,” and the response they receive is essentially:

    You need professional help.

    You’ve proved the point beautifully here.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago*

    I've done plenty of peer support.

    Ultimately, the you need professional help... It's wishful thinking. This person is broken. They think talking to machines is going to humanize them?

    Ok buddy.

    Clearly I have no problem saying the quiet part out loud.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (1 child)

    Bad therapy from unlicensed volunteers can really mess up a person. It’s one thing to have a bot get your back, it’s another to have a human provide really bad advice. I’ve seen that with these free and even paid unlicensed therapy places. One of my relatives therapist shopped through things like this and she became really awfully selfish and insufferable for a long while.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    The problems I have aren’t something all that bad. No one wants to deal with a privileged person complaining about the mundane and acting neurotic. I toss my bs at these bots until i bitch enough to move on. I don’t need a therapist for that. I need something on demand to listen and match my energy.

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