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AI-powered digital friends, the new threat to teenagers’ mental health

Manu González Pascual — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 08:13:56 GMT

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini are penetrating people’s private lives — including those of minors. More and more young people are turning to these tools for emotional queries. Psychologists warn that replacing human bonds with digital relationships can have deep effects on emotional development. In some cases the outcome can be fatal: in the U.S. several lawsuits have been filed by families of young people who allegedly self-harmed or even died by suicide after being encouraged to do so by such tools. That includes Sewell Setzer, 14, who took his own life after discussing that possibility with a synthetic character created on Character.ai with whom he was desperately in love and interpreting some of its remarks as an invitation to do it.

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