A troubling new trend is emerging among young adults: they’re turning to ChatGPT not just for texts, but to script their actual in-person conversations. What started as a productivity tool has evolved into a social crutch that psychologists are now calling an “epidemic of self-mistrust.”
What Happened
According to recent reporting, 20-year-old cancer researcher Niharika Abbaraju represents a growing cohort leveraging AI chatbots beyond professional boundaries. While she uses ChatGPT for legitimate research tasks during work hours, evenings find her consulting the AI for dating app openers, party icebreakers, and real-time conversation responses. She’s far from alone. Anecdotal evidence suggests this practice is spreading rapidly across college campuses and young professional networks, with teens and twenty-somethings routinely asking ChatGPT how to respond to social situations before responding themselves.
The phenomenon reflects a broader reliance on artificial intelligence for navigating human connection. Users report feeling more confident with AI-generated scripts in their pockets, treating ChatGPT as a conversational safety net for every awkward moment.
Key Points
Mental health experts warn that outsourcing conversation to AI may be rewiring how young adults approach social interaction. Rather than developing authentic communication skills through trial and error—the traditional pathway to confidence—this generation is offloading the cognitive and emotional work to algorithms.
Dr. Jonathan Haidt and other developmental psychologists have long emphasized that social competence emerges from practice, even uncomfortable practice. When AI eliminates the struggle, it may simultaneously eliminate the growth. Users become dependent on scripts, never building the neural pathways necessary for spontaneous, confident interaction.
The irony is particularly sharp: a tool designed to enhance human capability is instead undermining human agency. Young adults report feeling less equipped to handle social situations without AI assistance, creating a vicious cycle of dependence.
What This Means
This trend signals a significant cultural shift. If outsourcing conversations becomes normalized, we may see a generation less equipped for genuine human connection. Job interviews, romantic relationships, and professional networking all require authentic presence—something no AI script can truly replicate.
Tech companies face an ethical reckoning. While ChatGPT isn’t explicitly marketed for social scripting, its capabilities enable this use case perfectly. Developers must consider whether their products are solving legitimate problems or enabling avoidance of developmental challenges.
For young adults themselves, the message from psychologists is clear: the discomfort of genuine conversation is actually a feature, not a bug. Building confidence requires embracing awkwardness, not automating it away.
