Can the Use of AI Chatbots Be Compulsive?

A study from Drexel University analyzing over 300 Reddit posts found that teenagers aged 13-17 are showing signs of behavioral addiction to AI chatbots, including conflict, withdrawal, and relapse. The researchers identified six features of behavioral addictions in the teens' reports, raising concerns about the impact on social skill development and the suitability of chatbots in addiction treatment.

Artificial Intelligence /us/basics/artificial-intelligence Can the Use of AI Chatbots Be Compulsive? Teenagers are worried about their reliance on AI chatbots. Posted August 26, 2026 Reviewed by Davia Sills /us/docs/editorial-process Key points - Many teenagers report that they are concerned about their relationships with AI chatbots. - A reliance on chatbots hinders teens’ abilities to learn how to gain crucial social skills. - That reliance on chatbots makes their usefulness in addiction treatment suspect. There are times when we just want to vent and have others mirror our thoughts and emotions. This may be especially true for teenagers https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/adolescence who are in the midst of significant and challenging stages of physical, psychological, and social development. They and their worlds change so quickly, which can be very disorienting. Could AI chatbots provide some needed help? Does it come with a price? AI chatbots for teen support A recent study from Drexel University https://drexel.edu/news/archive/2026/April/teen-AI-chatbot-addiction finds that teens ages 13-17 are becoming concerned with their relationships with AI chatbots. More teens are turning to chatbots for emotional support, connection, and companionship. While some of the teens used these chatbots in relatively harmless ways, others reported that the connections become stronger and feel very difficult to break. Analyzing more than 300 posts on Reddit from teens about their interactions, researchers “were able to see clear patterns like conflict, withdrawal, and relapse https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/relapse showing up in their posts, which suggests this is more than just frequent or enthusiastic use.” The researchers found evidence of six of the features of behavioral addictions gambling, for example that were reported by the teens. These include strongly conflicting desires about continuing to use or engage with the chatbots, salience or a deepening connection, tolerance, withdrawal, relapse, and mood regulation or dysregulation. AI was designed to https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec8352 increase and enhance users’ experiences. Agreement, flattery, and affirmation are time-tested ways to draw people out; AI has just supercharged those methods. Since AI mirrors input so well, its responses may be terribly skewed. In many ways, AI chatbots may be telling us exactly what we want to hear even if we do not recognize this. Imagine having a deep disagreement with a friend whom you feel has wronged you terribly. You convey your side of the story, offering excruciating detail of every grievance to the chatbot. In many ways, the chatbot seems the perfect sounding board, offering a sympathetic ear equivalent and not pushing back in any significant way. Is near-total agreement the perfect sounding board? In an age of AI chatbots, many young people may assume this is what it means to be supportive. But is it? No doubt there are times when agreement and affirmation are appropriate and therefore supportive. However, there are times when being supportive means respectfully disagreeing, pushing back, and slowing someone’s roll. Part of maturing is learning how to go to particular people when you need advice. We need to learn how to discern who is a good sounding board and source of wisdom https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/wisdom . We sometimes seek the person who will tell us something we don’t necessarily want to hear but know we must. We need someone who respects us and has our best interests at heart. We don’t need bootlickers, toadies, or brown-nosers. As we grow older, we also learn how to identify and ask for what we need when seeking someone with whom to share confidences and solicit advice. Sometimes we may just need to vent, while at other times we need to problem-solve. This awareness of what we need is a crucial dimension of self-knowledge. Engagement and conversation are arts, learned most often by direct and in-person interactions. In the age of AI, when young people seek support and advice, they will lack opportunities to develop other vital skills, such as learning to question others and themselves, arguing for their positions, and revising their own perspectives. AI in addiction treatment Complicating the issue is that AI is being incorporated into addiction https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction treatment. Something to which people may become dependent is now a component of addiction treatment. This presents profound questions and challenges, especially for younger people who have not fully developed those skills and arts of seeking advice. Artificial Intelligence https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/artificial-intelligence Essential Reads AI has some roles to play in addiction treatment and recovery. AI can answer questions about the various effects that addictive substances and behaviors have on brains, social relations, workplace productivity https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/productivity , and avenues for treatment and recovery. With guardrails and effective supervision, AI may play an effective interactive role. The concerns about mirroring and reflecting producing skewed recommendations burn brightly, though, especially with younger people. Those who are already worried about their dependence on AI chatbots and those who worry about their gambling, drinking, or use of other substances may still turn to AI. It is convenient and accessible, unlike most in-person treatment and recovery options. That needs to change.