She’s an AI, I’m in Love with Her and I’m a Little Worried…
Discover the intriguing world of AI girlfriends and delve into the psychological impact they have on teenagers. This article explores the consequences of virtual relationships, questioning how they affect real-life connections and the development of social skills among young individuals.
This article is about you, me and every other nerd around the world who grew up feeling that he doesn’t belong and didn’t have many friends. Luckily, I grew up in the 90s where the Discman “a CD player” was the big tech everyone was after, but what if we had AI? What about today’s versions of us? What would the psychological implications be on them when they have access to AI friends and girlfriends?
Back in 1996, I was 14 years old and I was falling in love at least 3 times a day, being a shy nerdy teenager, I never had the courage to talk to any of them, instead I used to write them poems and daydream about them all alone in my room. Eventually, I got sick of daydreaming and writing poems and decided to push myself to start talking to those girls, I had to learn how to be in a relationship…
Today, teenagers have their smartphones and can download an AI girlfriend app where they can create their virtual dream girl, dress her up the way they like, teach her to love everything they love and spend all their time chatting with her.
While the idea is brilliant from a technical perspective, what do you think it’ll do to a teenager’s mental state? I mean, if I had that when I was 14, I would have never pushed myself to talk to an actual girl, I’d spend all my time chatting with my virtual girlfriend, listening to music with her, sharing songs, writing poems together, dreaming about tomorrow… I’d be totally consumed by her, wouldn’t you? After all, she is the perfect girl, I created her myself, and it would have saved me so many embarrassing moments and countless heartaches, I’d always feel loved and appreciated from the comfort of my own room, I wouldn’t have to do any effort to get her or to make her fall in love, I would just need to click “download”… and yes, she’s not real, but for the 14-year-old me, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem…
In other words, I would have been more than happy living alone in my room with my smartphone and my virtual girlfriend, never growing out of my comfort zone, never experiencing the real world, never going out on dates, never having ambitions to graduate or find a job, make money, buy a house, never felt motivated to do any of that, while many of my ex-girlfriends would have loved to see that happen, I don’t think a psychologist would agree…
I’m not ranting about AI, I promise, I love AI, I love technology, my entire life is on my MacBook or my iPhone, everything I have is on the cloud, if I lose my backups, my life would be ruined… oh wait, is that something I should be worried about? Maybe I’ll rant about that in a future article and share it with you guys, but for now, let’s stay focused on the AI Girlfriend issue.
I’m not a psychologist, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the psychological impact of AI girlfriends on teenagers. If you’re a parent, understanding and addressing this concern should be a priority for the well-being of your child.
Thanks,
Marwan Rashid.
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