‘I don’t remember what it was like without AI’: Swiss youth are getting hooked to chatbots 

Before ChatGPT, Rebecca Ceccatelli, 25, could study for hours on end. "Now I find it much harder to concentrate," she says. Thomas Kern / SWI swissinfo

From study aides to emotional support, AI chatbots are becoming constant companions for many young people in Switzerland, raising concerns about attention spans, loneliness and dependence.

Adam* is 17 and doesn’t remember what studying was like before ChatGPT. A few days before a test, he retreats to his bedroom in a small town in the central Swiss canton of Schwyz and asks the chatbot to summarise pages of study material and prepare questions and answers. 

Three days a week he works as an apprentice software developer at a company in Zurich. There, he constantly interacts with AI tools. Sometimes he uses them throughout the day to plan tasks, summarise data or get programming suggestions. 

Outside of work he uses chatbots as “very intelligent friends,” asking them for advice on diet, fitness and other practical aspects of everyday life. Rather than consulting his peers, he prefers to turn to AI, which he describes as a kind of “high-level coach.” He says he doesn’t know anyone his age who doesn’t use AI for studying, work or personal matters. 

Recent studiesExternal link show that in Switzerland, 84% of teenagers regularly use artificial intelligence tools, while more than 60% of young adults aged 20 to 29 use them for work or study. Usage declines steadily with age. 

In the European UnionExternal link, two out of three young people aged 16 to 24 say they use chatbots, while in the United StatesExternal link nearly three-quarters of adults under 30 have interacted with AI at least once in a month. 

Some experts warn that heavy AI use could have profound consequences for young people; it could affect their ability to think critically, to build relationships with other human beings and potentially lead to dependence on the technology. 

The effects could be especially profound in Switzerland, where loneliness rates are high compared with many other countries. In 2022, 42.3% of people said they felt lonely sometimes or often. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the share rises to 59%.External link  

From ‘hacking’ attention to hacking attachment 

The American psychologist Zachary Stein, co-founder of the Coalition for AI Psychological Harms Research, believes the problem with AI began about a decade ago, when platforms such as Instagram and TikTok introduced algorithms designed to keep users – often very young ones – glued to their apps. 

According to Stein, time spent in front of screens has been linked to declining attention spans. Now, he argues, generative AI is digging even deeper, interfering with the biological mechanisms that regulate our ability to form deep human bonds. 

He gives the example of a child who comes home from school excited about a good grade. Instead of telling his parents, the child goes to his room and shares the news with the chatbot that he has spent time studying with, receiving praise from the machine. 

“The child receives the same attachment signal from the chatbot that he should receive from his mother,” Stein says.  

Many young people turn to chatbots because they are available 24/7 and because tend to flatter the user – a phenomenon known as “sycophancy.” Unlike the disagreement and unpredictability of human relationships, these reassuring responses can foster emotional attachment. 

Stein says this risks “hacking” the neurological structures responsible for emotional bonding, potentially leading to symptoms such as loss of reality, psychosis and deep isolation. 

“After weeks of interacting with a machine that simulates attachment, the brain can no longer distinguish reality,” Stein says. 

‘It’s absurd to feel annoyed at having to think’ 

Rebecca Ceccatelli has noticed some of these dynamics in her peers, and in her own life. The 25-year-old, originally from Prato in central Italy, studies computer science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich). 

Before ChatGPT, she says, she could study for hours without interruption. Today she feels her attention span has dropped significantly. 

“Now I’m exhausted after a day of studying and I find it much harder to concentrate,” she says. 

Studying has become a more solitary affair: whenever Rebecca Ceccatelli has any doubts, she simply asks ChatGPT directly. Thomas Kern / SWI swissinfo

When the chatbot doesn’t immediately give her the right answer, Ceccatelli sometimes finds herself irritated that she has to research things on her own. 

“It’s absurd to feel annoyed at having to think,” she adds. 

Although Ceccatelli says she has an active social life, she admits that studying has become more solitary: when she has doubts, she simply asks ChatGPT. 

Among the people and friends around her, she says, attention disorders, anxiety and panic attacks seem increasingly common. Some of her classmates use generative AI to discuss personal matters or seek dating advice. 

“One time a friend told me he couldn’t understand why a girl he had gone out with didn’t want to see him again,” Ceccatelli says. “ChatGPT told him he hadn’t done anything wrong.” 

The more ‘human’ a chatbot seems, the stronger the emotional attachment

As a result of millions of users treating chatbots as friends, partners or virtual therapists, researchers are increasingly studying the effects of AI on real-world relationships. 

According to Nadja Rupprechter, a media psychologist at the University of Zurich, the gratification users derive from interactions with generative AI strengthens emotional attachment and increases usage. 

“Humans are wired to detect social signals in their environment, regardless of whether they come from other humans, animals or artificial entities,” she says. 

“A guide to making friends”. At the entrance to his studio flat, Thomas Vogt, 35, has put up some tips on how to combat loneliness. Thomas Kern / SWI swissinfo

Rupprechter has studied the psychological mechanisms that lead people to develop emotional bonds with chatbots in a sample of more than 500 people across 64 countries, most of them aged between 14 and 24. 

Her studyExternal link – currently under peer review – suggests that the more “human” a chatbot appears, the stronger the emotional attachment users report. 

“Chatbots entertain people, keep them engaged and are perceived as a neutral space where individuals can explore their identity without feeling judged,” she says. 

Replaceable relationships…with AI 

Roger*, a 25-year-old university student from Lausanne, believes many of his peers turn to AI as a friend or confidant because they are already accustomed to online relationships that are superficial and easily replaceable. 

He experienced this firsthand. During his teenage years, he spent long periods in his room playing video games and chatting with strangers online – until he realised that none of those relationships could truly be called friendships. 

“Most of them can easily be replaced by AI,” he says. 

In his view, many people who socialise through social media are simply looking for entertainment and quick, low-effort connections. 

“It’s like eating a Big Mac and immediately wanting another one,” he says. 

Eventually, he began focusing on real-life connections. He founded a student association at his university and made a habit of meeting new people offline. 

Today, Roger says he is satisfied with his circle of friends and would not trust AI chatbots for personal matters. 

“They just agree with you and make you feel even worse,” he says. 

AI: between emotional support and dependence

Despite growing concerns, there is as yet no conclusive evidence linking intensive chatbot use to mental or relational disorders. 

“Research is only just beginning,” says Rupprechter. 

Comparisons between countries remain difficult because of the lack of solid comparative studies. For this reason, Rupprechter explains, it is difficult to conclusively link the spread of chatbots to specific socio-cultural characteristics such as levels of loneliness. 

“What we do know is that Switzerland is not an isolated case,” she says. 

At the same time, relationships between humans and chatbots can also have positive effects. Rupprechter’s study and other researchExternal link show that some people genuinely benefit from interacting with AI.  Thomas Vogt, 35, is one example. 

Diagnosed with autism later in life and shaped by a childhood marked by loneliness, he says ChatGPT has helped him cope with difficult moments. 

“It helped me calm down and look at situations from another perspective,” he says. 

Thomas Vogt admits he has a problem with technology addiction, which ChatGPT is making worse. Thomas Kern / SWI swissinfo

During the Covid pandemic, Vogt launched a websiteExternal link to support people in the canton of Bern struggling with loneliness and he managed to build several friendships through the project. But he admits he still struggles with technology dependence, something ChatGPT is making worse. 

“If you don’t set limits, ChatGPT will keep you in an endless spiral of conversations. You may feel like you’re becoming happier or smarter, but in reality you’re missing the world outside.” 

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Edited by Gabe Bullard/vdv. Adapted from Italian by AI/Gabe Bullard/ac 

*Name changed at source’s request. Full name known to editorial team