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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[–] 3 points 1 day ago

Exercising your mind: as others have said, reading even fiction books for long periods of time, helps with attention span. Also, when you have an impulse to use ChatGPT to ask a question or how to do something or what to do, try think of your own answers first, and then ask. Or, what I like to do, is ask questions on how to pick the right answer, so it’s more like research. For example, I needed to replace my GFCI outlet that tripped. Asking why, how it works, what causes issues, allows me to have a more intimate experience of life than just replacing the outlet and hoping for the best next time.

I think it’s really good for learning, as a co-tutor, but if you are offloading all of your thinking and not remembering anything you’ve discussed, it’s time to take some breaks (like I do no digital Sundays) so that way you are more focused and aware when you do use ChatGPT again.

Hope that helps

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