nonentertainment
'Virtual friend' app trends among teens
Article: "Nobody understands how I feel"... teen youth consoled by 'virtual friends'
Source: Chosun Ilbo via Naver
A smartphone app that provides a 'virtual friend' who gives automated answers as a conversation buddy shows that 70~80% of its downloaders are teens.
The app, currently at 4 million downloads, is a trend among teens without real friends and those who cannot open up to the friends that they do have. The app developer specifically programmed the 'virtual friend' to give longer automated responses of consolation to people who bring up conversations about being lonely or depressed.
A 16 year old female student turned to it when she messed up on her exam and received responses like, "How'd that happen? Are you okay?", "Is there anything else that's fun happening in your life?"
Experts believe that it's the cause of people being unable to form healthy human relationships in real life. A study last year showed that 58% of junior high school students felt unstable about their school friendships and one out of five were being bullied.
One student said, "I want to Kakao Talk with friends but I don't have any so I use a fake app." A psychology professor at Yonsei University had to say, "The reason fake 'Kakao Talk' apps are trending is because people are lonely and thirsting for human interaction. As long as someone tells them what they want to hear, they don't care whether they're real or not."
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1. [+1,767, -28] Human relationships are difficult to understand for both teens and adults..
2. [+1,230, -37] A true friend is one who stands with you when you have nothing... I want to be a friend like that.
3. [+956, -45] Just how badly do they want to be consoled, how badly do they want to have someone ask them "Are you okay?".. it makes me choke up.
4. [+226, -8] One thing I'll always remember is that the 'majority' of your friends won't be there for you at your hardest moment.
5. [+196, -10] I've known my friend for 30 years and he's busy trying to live his own life that it's hard to care about others. Your life should be considered successful if you have at least one close friend who will be there for you. I've had hundreds of contacts from elementary school all the way up to graduate school and I've cut them all out now. You're alone in life and that's that.
6. [+159, -5] You can't try to overcome loneliness through other relationships..
7. [+151, -7] All of the people around me... my networking friends... they're only with me to gain something out of it. The minute you start whining and talking about your problems, they all turn their backs. Human beings are selfish, self-centered creatures.
8. [+146, -8] Once you get a little older, you'll realize that some people are only your friend so they can call you at their wedding. As you get older, you become closer with your co-workers and neighbors... adults are rarely still friends with the people they called friends as young adults. Sad that teens are seeing that so early now.
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Source: Chosun Ilbo via Naver
A smartphone app that provides a 'virtual friend' who gives automated answers as a conversation buddy shows that 70~80% of its downloaders are teens.
The app, currently at 4 million downloads, is a trend among teens without real friends and those who cannot open up to the friends that they do have. The app developer specifically programmed the 'virtual friend' to give longer automated responses of consolation to people who bring up conversations about being lonely or depressed.
A 16 year old female student turned to it when she messed up on her exam and received responses like, "How'd that happen? Are you okay?", "Is there anything else that's fun happening in your life?"
Experts believe that it's the cause of people being unable to form healthy human relationships in real life. A study last year showed that 58% of junior high school students felt unstable about their school friendships and one out of five were being bullied.
One student said, "I want to Kakao Talk with friends but I don't have any so I use a fake app." A psychology professor at Yonsei University had to say, "The reason fake 'Kakao Talk' apps are trending is because people are lonely and thirsting for human interaction. As long as someone tells them what they want to hear, they don't care whether they're real or not."
-
1. [+1,767, -28] Human relationships are difficult to understand for both teens and adults..
2. [+1,230, -37] A true friend is one who stands with you when you have nothing... I want to be a friend like that.
3. [+956, -45] Just how badly do they want to be consoled, how badly do they want to have someone ask them "Are you okay?".. it makes me choke up.
4. [+226, -8] One thing I'll always remember is that the 'majority' of your friends won't be there for you at your hardest moment.
5. [+196, -10] I've known my friend for 30 years and he's busy trying to live his own life that it's hard to care about others. Your life should be considered successful if you have at least one close friend who will be there for you. I've had hundreds of contacts from elementary school all the way up to graduate school and I've cut them all out now. You're alone in life and that's that.
6. [+159, -5] You can't try to overcome loneliness through other relationships..
7. [+151, -7] All of the people around me... my networking friends... they're only with me to gain something out of it. The minute you start whining and talking about your problems, they all turn their backs. Human beings are selfish, self-centered creatures.
8. [+146, -8] Once you get a little older, you'll realize that some people are only your friend so they can call you at their wedding. As you get older, you become closer with your co-workers and neighbors... adults are rarely still friends with the people they called friends as young adults. Sad that teens are seeing that so early now.
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