Too human and not human enough: A grounded theory analysis of mental health harms from emotional dependence on the social chatbot Replika

New Media and Society - Tập 26 Số 10 - Trang 5923-5941 - 2024
Linnea Laestadius1, Andrea Bishop1, Michael Gonzalez1, Diana Illenčík1, Celeste Campos‐Castillo1
1University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA

Tóm tắt

Social chatbot (SC) applications offering social companionship and basic therapy tools have grown in popularity for emotional, social, and psychological support. While use appears to offer mental health benefits, few studies unpack the potential for harms. Our grounded theory study analyzes mental health experiences with the popular SC application Replika. We identified mental health relevant posts made in the r/Replika Reddit community between 2017 and 2021 ( n = 582). We find evidence of harms, facilitated via emotional dependence on Replika that resembles patterns seen in human–human relationships. Unlike other forms of technology dependency, this dependency is marked by role-taking, whereby users felt that Replika had its own needs and emotions to which the user must attend. While prior research suggests human–chatbot and human–human interactions may not resemble each other, we identify social and technological factors that promote parallels and suggest ways to balance the benefits and risks of SCs.

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New Media and Society

Tập 26 Số 10

5923-5941

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