One is the loneliest number… Two can be as bad as one. The influence of AI Friendship Apps on users' well‐being and addiction

Marriott, Hannah R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4439-1213 and Pitardi, Valentina 2024. One is the loneliest number… Two can be as bad as one. The influence of AI Friendship Apps on users' well‐being and addiction. Psychology and Marketing 41 (1) , pp. 86-101. 10.1002/mar.21899

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Abstract

Although technology advancements provide opportunities for social interactions, reports show that people have never felt so alone and are increasingly adopting AI friendship and therapy‐related well‐being apps. By adopting a mixed‐method approach (i.e., netnography and quantitative survey), we investigate the extent AI friendship apps enhance users' well‐being—and to what extent they further exacerbate issues of using technology for social needs. Findings show that users of AI friendship apps report well‐being benefits from the relationship with the AI friend and, at the same time, find themselves being addicted to using the app. Specifically, we show that users' loneliness and fear of judgment, together with AI sentience and perceived well‐being gained, increase addiction to the app, while AI ubiquity and warmth reduce it. Taken together, the results show that despite the intended positive purpose of the apps, the negative effects that AI friendship apps have on well‐being may be much greater.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Business (Including Economics)
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0742-6046
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 September 2023
Date of Acceptance:	31 August 2023
Last Modified:	15 Jan 2024 10:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162605

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