Comment by codebje
2 months ago
Using ChatGPT to numb social isolation is akin to using alcohol to numb anxiety.
ChatGPT isn't a social connection: LLMs don't connect with you. There is no relationship growth, just an echo chamber with one occupant.
Maybe it's a little healthier for society overall if people become withdrawn to the point of suicide by spiralling deeper into loneliness with an AI chat instead of being radicalised to mass murder by forum bots and propagandists, but those are not the only two options out there.
Join a club. It doesn't really matter what it's for, so long as you like the general gist of it (and, you know, it's not "plot terrorism"). Sit in the corner and do the club thing, and social connections will form whether you want them to or not. Be a choir nerd, be a bonsai nut, do macrame, do crossfit, find a niche thing you like that you can do in a group setting, and loneliness will fade.
Numbing it will just make it hurt worse when the feeling returns, and it'll seem like the only answer is more numbing.
> social connections will form whether you want them to or not
Not true for all people or all circumstances. People are happy to leave you in the corner while they talk amongst themselves.
> it'll seem like the only answer is more numbing
For many people, the only answer is more numbing.