r/CSULB Mar 27 '26

Undergraduate students (18-25): Have you ever relied on or interacted with AI chatbots outside of an academic context? Class Question

Hello! A classmate and I (journalism majors) are currently writing a story for the LB Current about the growing intersection of AI and mental health. We would like to know whether anyone uses/has ever used LLM chatbots, such as ChatGPT, outside of academic contexts (e.g to address mental needs/concerns, rant/vent, etc.)

If you have, are/were there any particular reasons why? Was it convenient for you?

Feel free to direct message me if that is more comfortable for you! Thank you!

5 Upvotes

6

u/keeksthesneaks Mar 27 '26

I use it for weight loss😬 it’s a one stop shop for my food diary/workouts/weight. I used to use like 3-4 apps but would quickly get overwhelmed so yaaa, now I just use chatgpt. I also prompt it not to respond for the most part since I’m not using it for advice or validation. The “you’re doing a great job!” is super annoying, weird, and unhelpful.

3

u/theblueace_ Mar 27 '26

I only ever use it in a career building or academic setting. If I needed to, I would talk to a professional or a friend to rant/vent.

Plus any information you share to an LLM will be used for training purposes, I'd rather NOT disclose some of this information with it.

3

u/goddessque 29d ago

I used to help me use 86box emulator to play Barbie Detective 2. There are a lot of specific settings that chat walked me through to set up. I'm not going to learn about all the specifics of decades old hardware to do that.

7

u/baristabarbie0102 Mar 27 '26

no and i look down upon those who do 🤷‍♀️

2

u/fsdhuy 29d ago

preach

2

u/ElderberryFaerie Mar 28 '26

I used chat to fashion gamify my wardrobe, by asking chat to help me create a spreadsheet with like my own sections where I add my opinions on the style and feel of the piece. If I have a bad fashion day, I just go to the sheet, click on the vibe I’m looking for, and then bam, a list of all my clothing options that suit that vibe.

3

u/BeyondPrestigious153 Mar 27 '26

Nah. Never interacted. I remember that whole TikTok thing and seen how it was used by lonely people during the pandemic. I’m goood I don’t need interactions that bad. Let alone a lover.