2d ago

Half of Young Men Would Rather Date an AI Girlfriend Than Face Loneliness or Rejection, New Report Reveals

www.eznewswire.com

Half of Young Men Would Rather Date an AI Girlfriend Than Face Loneliness or Rejection, New Report Reveals | EZ Newswire

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/36855283

50% of young men say they would rather date an AI girlfriend than risk rejection from a human partner
31% of U.S. men aged 18–30 report already chatting with AI girlfriends
19% of American adults overall say they have explored AI romance
80% of Gen Z say they would consider a virtual relationship with an AI girlfriend
83% of Gen Z believe they can form a deep emotional bond with AI companions

Comments

Warehouse @lemmy.ca 2d ago
This is literally just an ad for the company.
- buckrogers @lemmy.ml 2d ago
  Thought this was a promoted post until I realised I was on lemmy.
- Canaconda @lemmy.ca 2d ago
  
  That's a perfect score. You are a very special user u/Warehouse
- brucethemoose @lemmy.world 2d ago
  A shameless one.
  The idea/statistic is still weirdly interesting and discussion worthy though.
  
  Warehouse @lemmy.ca 2d ago
  
  Except it's literally just an advertisement. None of the claims can be trusted to mean anything.
PumpkinSkink @lemmy.world 1d ago
It's ludicrously irresponsible to even use the language of "date" for this. This is straight up a category error. You can't "date" a chatbot.
ushmel @piefed.world 1d ago
We went from an AI anime waifu being a joke on Archer to it being a multi billion dollar industry way too quick. GenZ dudes need to log off and touch grass.
Buffalox @lemmy.world 2d ago
This reeks so much of bullshit.
To me it sounds like claiming young men would rather date a picture of a bunny, than risk rejection.
Like WTF?!?!?
There is no dating an AI, you are fucking not on a "date" of any sorts. You are chatting with a fancy bot, that will parrot whatever bullshit back to you it has compiled from more or less reliable sources.
- Canaconda @lemmy.ca 2d ago
  To a degree this is just another clickbait, "Younger Generation Ruins XYZ Thing Only Old People Care About."
  On the other hand... I do think there's some truth to young men being more rejection adverse than previous generations. Though I admit it could easily be a case of Baader-Meinhof due to social media.
- dhork @lemmy.world 2d ago
  
  On the other hand, the AI will never talk back, doesn't want to abandon you to spend time with its own friends occasionally, and doesn't have a mother who thinks her offspring could do much better. Doesn't sound half bad, if you ignore the fact that it's all fake.
  Yes, putting up with all that is all a part of building healthy relationships between humans, which is a key part of growing into adulthood. But not everyone gets there.
- cerebralhawks @lemmy.dbzer0.com 2d ago
  You don't believe it's ever happened?
  I don't know why the CSS isn't loading on this CNN link, other than maybe because the link is 16 years old. (Probably older than the waifu in question.) But here you go: https://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/16/japan.virtual.wedding/index.html
  
  Buffalox @lemmy.world 2d ago
  Insane people exist, that doesn't make it a trend.
brucethemoose @lemmy.world 2d ago
I don’t get this at all.
I’m horrifically lonely. I’m basically a shut in. I need a hug.
I’ve got serious rejection anxiety, among other problems. But I used to have a lot of friends in the past, which makes it even worse.
I… Get attached to characters, like some in TV or wholesome NPCs in games. I wanna hug them.
I’m a local ML enthusiast. I’ve been tinkering with chatbots before ChatGPT was even a thing, including “RP” finetunes.
I’m the target market.
…And I don’t see the appeal of this?
It’s the same reason I don’t get why guys pay to gawk at (excuse me if this is insensitive) people twerking on OnlyFans or Instagram or whatever. There’s no human connection. Do guys really think thumbs-upping some performer behind a screen is emotional attention?
Same with chatbots. They can be cerebrally interesting story generators, sometimes, sure. Even an interesting ‘mirror’ to bounce private thoughts off of.
But a girlfriend?
I really don’t get it. I can’t empathize with that.
I don’t get the world at all, and how billions of people seem to think they’re in some kind of two-way human relationship with influencers or (apparently) chatbots. Where’s the connection?
And yeah, I saw this is a ad, but the idea itself is still weirdly interesting.
- ushmel @piefed.world 1d ago
  I'm probably weird, but I'll throw some bucks at an OF just because it's cheap and I think the, uhh, content deserves some reward. But jfc the DMs are weird. No I don't need to chat with the porn girl. Just put the porn in the bag and you can have $5.
  
  brucethemoose @lemmy.world 1d ago
  
  Yeah. I get 'tipping the show', but not the DMing part which so many seem to be after.
  The porn itself is a... uh, different itch, I'd say.
Mereo @piefed.ca 2d ago
Why is this upvoted? It an ad for a company.
priapus @piefed.social 2d ago
Zero chance any of this is true.
kat_angstrom @lemmy.world 2d ago
Yes, rejection sucks. But not as much as sycophantic LLMs that don't know anything.
- willington @lemmy.dbzer0.com 2d ago
  I don't want to eat paint chips. Dating AI is even less appealing.
- goatinspace @feddit.org 2d ago
  It can summarize love and never disagree or say I dont know👍
  
  kat_angstrom @lemmy.world 2d ago
  Ooooof, what a dark timeline. I'd rather hear "I don't know" over BS any day of the week
paraphrand @lemmy.world 2d ago
This can’t be real. I don’t believe it.
shortwavesurfer @lemmy.zip 2d ago
Can't have sex with an AI though... Yet...
- Bronzebeard @lemmy.zip 2d ago
  Japan has their top men working on that
  
  shortwavesurfer @lemmy.zip 2d ago
  I wouldn't be surprised.
  
  Lembot_0004 @discuss.online 2d ago
  We can't trust the Japanese with such an important problem: most of us wouldn't want to have sex with tentacles and cat ears.
- hmmm @sh.itjust.works 2d ago
  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
🇰 🌀 🇱 🇦 🇳 🇦 🇰 🇮 @pawb.social 2d ago

Been playing Stardew Valley and I gotta say it's pretty great that I can get virtual hugs and words of affirmation every in-game day from my character's spouse. It sure is better than nothing.
HubertManne @piefed.social 2d ago
Its wierd to see dating in a owner/property type of relationship.
- Grimy @lemmy.world 2d ago
  It's also, in the end, a type of video game. You can't "date" an npc. I really dislike the use of the word.
- ryathal @sh.itjust.works 2d ago
  Is it? Prostitution has existed since forever. Women as property is still a cultural norm in some countries that exist today. We are within living memory of marital rape becoming a crime in the US.
  
  HubertManne @piefed.social 2d ago
  The use of date in terms of prostitutes is also very wierd although maybe common in a nudge nudge wink wink your not a cop are you kind of way.
SGforce @lemmy.ca 2d ago
This is the equivalent to a lobotomy

39 Comments