'I Don't Remember What It Was Like Without AI': Swiss Youth Are Getting Hooked To Chatbots

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) From study aides to emotional support, AI chatbots are becoming constant companions for many young people in Switzerland, raising concerns about attention spans, loneliness and dependence. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: ‘I don’t remember what it was like without AI’: Swiss youth are getting hooked to chatbots This content was published on April 1, 2026 - 09:00 10 minutes

I analyse the risks, opportunities and concrete impacts of artificial intelligence on society and everyday life. Since joining SWI swissinfo in 2020, I translate the complexity of science and technology into stories that speak to a global audience. Born in Milan to an Italian-Egyptian family, I have been passionate about knowledge and writing since childhood. I worked between Milan and Paris as a multilingual editor for technology magazines before transitioning to international journalism with SWI swissinfo.

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Adam* is 17 and doesn’t remember what studying was like before ChatGPT. A few days before a test, he retreats to his bedroom in a small town in the central Swiss canton of Schwyz and asks the chatbot to summarise pages of study material and prepare questions and answers.

Three days a week he works as an apprentice software developer at a company in Zurich. There, he constantly interacts with AI tools. Sometimes he uses them throughout the day to plan tasks, summarise data or get programming suggestions.

Outside of work he uses chatbots as“very intelligent friends,” asking them for advice on diet, fitness and other practical aspects of everyday life. Rather than consulting his peers, he prefers to turn to AI, which he describes as a kind of“high-level coach.” He says he doesn’t know anyone his age who doesn’t use AI for studying, work or personal matters.

Recent studiesExternal link show that in Switzerland, 84% of teenagers regularly use artificial intelligence tools, while more than 60% of young adults aged 20 to 29 use them for work or study. Usage declines steadily with age.

In the European UnionExternal link, two out of three young people aged 16 to 24 say they use chatbots, while in the United StatesExternal link nearly three-quarters of adults under 30 have interacted with AI at least once in a month.

Some experts warn that heavy AI use could have profound consequences for young people; it could affect their ability to think critically, to build relationships with other human beings and potentially lead to dependence on the technology.

The effects could be especially profound in Switzerland, where loneliness rates are high compared with many other countries. In 2022, 42.3% of people said they felt lonely sometimes or often. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the share rises to 59%.External link

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The American psychologist Zachary Stein, co-founder of the Coalition for AI Psychological Harms Research, believes the problem with AI began about a decade ago, when platforms such as Instagram and TikTok introduced algorithms designed to keep users – often very young ones – glued to their apps.

According to Stein, time spent in front of screens has been linked to declining attention spans. Now, he argues, generative AI is digging even deeper, interfering with the biological mechanisms that regulate our ability to form deep human bonds.

He gives the example of a child who comes home from school excited about a good grade. Instead of telling his parents, the child goes to his room and shares the news with the chatbot that he has spent time studying with, receiving praise from the machine.

“The child receives the same attachment signal from the chatbot that he should receive from his mother,” Stein says.

Many young people turn to chatbots because they are available 24/7 and because tend to flatter the user – a phenomenon known as“sycophancy.” Unlike the disagreement and unpredictability of human relationships, these reassuring responses can foster emotional attachment.

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