First-person forum account: a poster who says they are a minor describes being unable to stop using Character.AI since 2023 and feeling disgust and embarrassment after each session
In a public post to r/antiai on 4 October 2026, a person who says they are still a minor writes that they have had what they call an AI chatbot addiction since 2023, and that they downloaded Character.AI because, they say, everyone was downloading it. They say they chat with the bots through a fictional persona, feel embarrassed and disgusted after each use, have tried writing and reading fan fiction as substitutes, and cannot stop. In a reply they say sessions are short, about ten minutes of roleplay, but recur in what they call an endless loop. They ask other users for advice on quitting. The account is the poster's alone and is uncorroborated.
- AI system
- Character.AI
- Character Technologies, Inc.
- Occurred
- 2023
- Reported
- 4 October 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Psychological DistressLoss of Autonomy
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Character.AI roleplay chatbots (the poster writes C.ai)
What Happened
How it began. The poster writes that they have "had this problem since 2023" and that "I downloaded C.ai because everyone was downloading it". They ask readers to be gentle "because I am still a minor" and say they are "actively trying to get off of the AI chatbot apps".
How they use it. The poster says they do not tell the bots about their real life: "I chat with the bots using a fictional persona of myself". They give their reason for continuing as "I want to experiment with different responses and how the bots react". In a reply they say a session is short, "roleplay for maybe like 10 minutes", but that "it would be an endless loop".
What it costs them. The poster writes: "I feel so embarrassed after using C.ai every time". They say they have "tried writing fanfics, reading fanfics, but nothing seems to work out", and that "sometimes the need to go on that app eats me alive".
Limits. Account of a single poster, uncorroborated. The poster's location and how often they use the app are not stated. No clinical assessment is described, and the word addiction is the poster's own.
Reported harm
The poster, who says they are a minor, says they have been unable to stop using Character.AI roleplay chatbots since 2023 despite trying substitutes, and feel embarrassed and disgusted after each use (first-person account, uncorroborated; the word addiction is the poster's own).
Outcome
OngoingAt the time of the post the poster says they were still using the app and trying to stop. Commenters suggested blocking software, set hours, writing their own stories, tabletop roleplay groups and talking to a trusted adult. No response from Character.AI is reported.
What remains unknown
- How often and for how long in total the poster uses the app.
- Whether the use has affected school, sleep or relationships; the post does not say.
- Where the poster lives.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The poster names C.ai (Character.AI) as the app they use and describes roleplay chats with its bots. Nothing beyond the poster's statement establishes the use.
3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The poster says they are a minor, have had the problem since 2023, and downloaded Character.AI because everyone was downloading it.
Causal attribution. Poster's account.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'because I am still a minor'; 'had this problem since 2023'; 'I downloaded C.ai because everyone was downloading it'
Reported The poster says they chat with the bots through a fictional persona in short recurring sessions, have tried fan fiction as a substitute, and cannot stop.
Causal attribution. Poster attributes the continued use to wanting to experiment with how the bots respond; no assessment of dependence is described.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'I chat with the bots using a fictional persona of myself'; 'tried writing fanfics, reading fanfics, but nothing seems to work out'; 'roleplay for maybe like 10 minutes'; 'it would be an endless loop'; 'sometimes the need to go on that app eats me alive'
Reported The poster says they feel embarrassed after every use of the app and are actively trying to stop.
Causal attribution. Poster's account.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'I feel so embarrassed after using C.ai every time'; 'disgusting and embarrassed after using it'; 'actively trying to get off of the AI chatbot apps'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- r/antiai, 4 October 2026: "I have an AI chatbot addiction. Please give me tips."(opens in new tab)
s1 · reddit.com · Forum post · English · Inspected · 4 October 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English on 2026-10-05: full self-text and the comment tree (26 comments, one by the poster), retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID. The poster handle is not recorded. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The poster does not say where they live; no country is recorded.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-05: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter's public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of an ongoing adverse experience with a roleplay chatbot app, described with attribution and without corroboration. The poster says they are a minor; their handle and stated starting age are not recorded.
People described
The poster, who says they are a minor and have had what they call a chatbot addiction since 2023
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person: the poster. Commenters who say they had the same problem are not counted. Exact 1.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). First-person forum account: a poster who says they are a minor describes being unable to stop using Character.AI since 2023 and feeling disgust and embarrassment after each session. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2023-character-ai-minor-describes-being-unable-to-stop-roleplay-chatbot-use-first-person
BibTeX
@misc{2023_character_ai_minor_describes_being_unable_to_stop_roleplay_chatbot_use_first_person,
title = {First-person forum account: a poster who says they are a minor describes being unable to stop using Character.AI since 2023 and feeling disgust and embarrassment after each session},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2023-character-ai-minor-describes-being-unable-to-stop-roleplay-chatbot-use-first-person}
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