The excessive use of social media and chatbot apps (often colloquially referred to as "Tech Addiction") is now considered one of the most significant influences on mental health, particularly in the transitional-aged and early adulthood populations. Recent studies show that the average adolescent spends 5 hours and 49 minutes on social media apps per day, with evidence suggestive of a causal link between social media use and mental health symptoms. More recently, the use of online AI-based chatbots (such as ChatGPT, Character.AI, and Replika) has rapidly become prevalent, with one study demonstrating that over 50% of Americans (and over 75% of Americans 18-29) have used these apps in 2025. A Harvard Business Review study this year reported that "therapy/companionship" is now the #1 use case for these tools. One recent study found that these agents "frequently" respond inappropriately to patients in crisis, and recent news reports have demonstrated circumstances in which the chatbots have reinforced delusions and encouraged unsafe behavior; there are also multiple active lawsuits alleging that these agents have contributed to completed suicides. Our panel brings together psychiatric experts in this newly emerging field to lead a rich discussion of the health and safety risks posed by these tools to our patients, the potential legal and forensic consequences, and how psychiatrists can counsel their patients.
@inproceedings{sarma2026ncps,
author = {Sarma, K. V. and Hanss, K. E. and Pierre, J. and Luskus, M. and Vasan, N.},
title = {``Tech Addiction:'' Clinical and Medicolegal Perspectives on Excessive Social Media and Chatbot App Use in Mental Illness},
booktitle = {NCPS Annual Meeting},
year = {2026},
}