How Interactions with ChatGPT & Pets Affect Our Emotional Wellbeing (Issue #31)
I was talking to my roofing contractor the other day and he mentioned how his teenage daughter is always on her phone.
Texting with friends, interacting on social media etc., and how when there was no one left to talk to she’d chat with AI.
That got me thinking—how does interacting with AI actually affect our well-being?”
A study on well-being
Recently OpenAI, in collaboration with MIT Media Lab conducted studies to better understand how interactions with ChatGPT affected user’s emotional well-being.
The research combined large-scale analysis of various user interactions and controlled experiments to assess emotional impact.
Here were some interesting key findings:
High Usage and Emotional Impact: A small group of "power users" engaged disproportionately with ChatGPT, often using it for emotional support. These users reported increased feelings of loneliness and dependence, especially when interacting with ChatGPT in a neutral tone.
Mode of Interaction Matters: Engaging with ChatGPT's voice mode provided some relief from loneliness. However, users already experiencing loneliness were more likely to overuse this feature, potentially worsening their feelings of isolation.
User Behavior and Emotional Outcomes: The studies highlighted that both the behavior of the AI model and user engagement patterns significantly influence social and emotional outcomes. The impact varies based on individual usage habits and personal circumstances.
The results
While ChatGPT can boost productivity and engagement, these findings remind us to balance AI interactions with real human connections. Users should approach interactions with awareness, ensuring that AI complements human connections rather than replacing them.
In other words, although chatting with AI (voice and text) temporarily relieved feelings of loneliness it does not and cannot replace real human interaction.
What about the puppies?
This Friday (April 11th) is National Pet Day!
So, give your dog some extra love, hug your hedgehog (with gloves) and give a bit of extra cat nip to your favorite pet!
Benefits for you and your pet
An estimated 68% of U.S. households have a pet.
For over a decade the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been conducting research on the physical and mental benefits of having a pet.
And, it turns out that not only can pets steal our hearts, but they also contribute to overall cardiovascular health by lowering cortisol, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels!
Although research is still fairly new, they’re also exploring the benefits of pets on child development by studying animal interactions with kids who have autism, ADHD and other conditions.
And of course who could forget our favorite therapy animals that are often brought into nursing homes and hospitals to bring comfort and spread joy. ❤️
So, as we embrace tech, let’s not forget the joy of real connections—whether with people or our furry (or spiky!) friends.
Until next time, stay well
~Colleen