Everyday chatbot help can become emotional support
The study followed 18 adults in the United States as chatbots became part of their lives. Help with daily tasks often grew into emotional support when other help was missing. The research describes how these habits formed and changed over time. It does not prove that chatbot use causes loneliness.
What the source reports
Researchers followed 18 adults in the United States from April to December 2025. They used interviews, a four-week diary study, and group discussions to learn how people used chatbots over time. Help with feelings often grew out of help with daily tasks, especially when other support was missing. People built habits and set limits around that use. Changes to models or to people's lives could disrupt those habits. So could public debate about AI harms. The authors argue that people who build these tools should consider that history before changing them. This small study describes people's experiences; it does not prove that chatbots cause loneliness.
Original source
- Title
- I Felt Very Seen, But Still Very Alone: Longitudinal Trajectories of General-Purpose LLM Use for Socioemotional Support
- Author
- Meryl Ye, Briana Vecchione, Livia Garofalo, Ranjit Singh
- Publication
- arXiv
- Date
- Friday, September 11, 2026