Ghosting: Why People Disappear and Why We Need AI Companions for Emotional Support in 2025.
In 2025, people disappear. Ghosting is a phenomenon that has only become more pervasive after research shows that it can account for 1 in 6 of our social engagements. Whether it's a potential romantic match or someone you've casually met, people stop responding - you may never hear from them again. While ghosting is perceived by some as rejection due to stress, anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic issues, it's detrimental to the would-be partner left without reason. AI relationships could have filled that void.
"Ghosting impacts our innate fears of rejection and abandonment," says Dr. Mira Krishnan, a clinical psychologist who specializes in interpersonal relationships in a digital age. "The lack of closure makes it increasingly more difficult to transition, subsequently making people second guess their own behavior and limiting the opportunities to meet others down the line."
Ghosting is an addition to being rejected and not getting the word. Is it something you said? Did they get into an accident? The ambiguity creates a mental narrative - often negative about the person who has been ghosted - to rationalize the lack of communication.
AI Companions: Here To Stay And Not Ghosted
This is where AI companions can be beneficial - they never ghost. Where a human companionship may fail, an AI companionship will always be there to respond with no fear of abandonment.
"AI companions are predictable; they offer an emotionally safe place to vent," says Dr. Krishnan. "People learn how to process their feelings, work on social skills, and receive validation without the fear of judgment or rejection."
Today's AI companions extend far beyond advanced chatbot technology. With various natural language processing technologies and emotional intelligence algorithms, today's AI mental health companions can hold intricate conversations, recall particular details about its user, respond to emotional stimuli and offer tailored support for one's specific needs.
More Than a Chat: How AI Truly Benefits
Although no machine can ever replace the value of human companionship, studies reveal several ways that AI companions benefit people when it comes to emotional wellness:
No judgment on what should or shouldn't be said: So many people hold unexpressed emotions because they feel guilty or like they're a burden when they've expressed in the past. AI companions do not feel this way.
Talking as practice for socializing: People with social anxiety or those who have become recluses from unfortunate situations may find value in talking to conversational AI as a means to relearn how to talk in safe spaces.
Consistency and predictability: People who live alone and have no one with whom to engage may enjoy having an AI companion they talk to often, at least, as it's healthy communication that may extend to humans one day.
Acknowledgment of feelings and responses over time: AI can note patterns in emotional responses over time and acknowledge feelings, suggesting methods of coping in the moment during courses of distress.
But not everyone agrees.
It's only natural that those who are critical aren't assured that the same technology that brought about social isolation will be the solution. People fear that with the use of AI companions, diminished social skills will become even easier to access or that people left feeling disappointed will only feel connected in their minds.
But Dr. Ellis Weymann, a MIT researcher of human and AI interaction believes: "AI companions shouldn't be considered replacements for human relationships, but they can be effective as transitional measures for those experiencing loneliness. The concern lies in depending on them redundantly, not fundamentally."
This therapeutic role seems even more prominent for those working through social rejection or those with mental health challenges that complicate fast social assimilation. AI friends provide the emotional grounding needed for users to connect with humans down the line.
Therapists have begun to explore therapeutic applications, for many counselors recommend AI companions as adjuncts to patients between sessions - especially those who feel so anxious or depressed that they feel alone.
"As an adjunct to therapy, AI mental health support can be emotional training wheels," says clinical therapist Daria Novak. "For clients who are socially avoidant, they have vulnerable discussions with the AI and feel empowered before using those skills in real-life human engagement."
The results from this initial study are promising. A 2024 study published in the Journal of Behavioral Health revealed that participants interacting with a sentimentally responsive AI loneliness companion daily in the comfort of their homes reduced their self-reported loneliness score by 32% - these are adults in a state of moderate depression - with results remaining significant at the three-month follow-up.
Striking an Intuitive Balance with Virtual Companions.
While AI companions can work wonders for people, mental health experts caution that balance is essential. Dr. Krishnan provides these ethical use guidelines regarding AI companions:
Restrict the amount spent engaging with AI so as not to become reliant.
Pay attention to whether you are using AI to adjust for or substitute human interaction.
Let AI dialogue spur future face-to-face engagement.
Distinguish the difference between how AI may appear human versus actual feeling - AI does not feel like we do.
"The ideal situation is for AI friends to exist within a larger social support system - not all of it," says Dr. Krishnan. "They can help you process that devastating ghosting event or practice expressing your feelings, but on the whole, the goal should be translating that into human interactions."
The Bigger Picture
Since AI technology will only get better by 2025 and beyond, there's surely much more coming down the line for these characters with greater emotional support capabilities. Voice recognition software is improving, emotional intelligence and personalization are on the rise making these digital companions even better equipped to meet unique emotional needs.
But for those particularly at risk, and lonely - ghosted, far away or socially anxious - AI friends are not a replacement for humans but a step toward emotional stability. Because in this uncertain world, they offer something increasingly hard to come by: a presence that won't ghost you.
In a world where real friends are hard to come by, perhaps this technology - and its ethical application - will bridge the gap between isolation and inclusion and be comforting to many.
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