I am a Gen Z university student. The ChatGPT got boom when I was in 12th grade and I have been using ChatGPT, Gemini and Deepseek since then. I am starting to notice that now I cannot do searching anymore. I literally cannot do anything on my own like coding, learning something, fact checking, doing my assignments. I even become so reliant on it that I sometime even ask it what food should I eat, what exercises I should do. Sometimes, I "talk" with ChatGPT more than real human beings, maybe cuz I somehow end up having a bad experience or not so fulfilling experience with people. I have to use AI again and again for the same question, e.g., I asked a question today, I got the answer. If I encountered that question later again, I would not know the answer and have to go to AI for solution. What to do now? How to get out of this dependence on AI?

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[–] 11 points 1 day ago

Your brain is very plastic. If you can endure the discomfort of quitting AI cold turkey, you will start to lift out of your fog quickly. I went through a period of severe depression and heavy drug use that lasted so, so long. By the end, I could barely read 5 pages. Things improved and I started reading/writing again. My skills came back, and it didn't take years. If you are like me, you can bounce back before 2026 is over. Read easy stuff, keep a journal, do simple coding projects - but use no AI. Your momentum will build fast.

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