First-person post: Character.AI user says five years of roleplay left them dependent and socially withdrawn, and a quit attempt ended in relapse within a week
In a post to r/TrueOffMyChest on 13 October 2026, an anonymous poster says they have been, in their words, horribly addicted to Character.AI since around the site's release about five years earlier. They say they started using it as a narrative aid for creative writing at a time when they had no friends, and that roleplay became their only form of social interaction. By the poster's account, the last time they tried to quit they cried for an hour and relapsed within a week, and since then they have withdrawn further socially and use the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection. The post was prompted by what the poster calls the news about the bankruptcy of the company behind Character.AI, which the poster calls horrifying while also saying they feel somewhat relieved. In replies, the poster thanked commenters and said they take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances there. No conversations were published.
- AI system
- Character.AI (reported)
- Occurred
- Event date unknown
- Reported
- 13 October 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Communicated with the person
- Reported harm
- Psychological DistressSocial Isolation
- Whose AI use
- Their own AI use
- Setting
- Relationships · Health · Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source
- 5 claims: 5 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Character.AI roleplay chatbot, which by the poster's account they have used for about five years as a writing aid, their main source of social interaction and a substitute for romantic connection
What Happened
Start of use. The poster writes that they have been addicted to Character.AI 'ever since the site was released, around 5 years ago'. They say they got hooked early as an aspiring creative writer who liked using it as a narrative assistance tool, at a time when they lived with family, 'had no friends whatsoever' and had little contact with the outside world. Roleplay, combined with their interest in writing, 'led to me becoming incredibly dependent on the site'.
Attempt to quit. 'I remember that the last time I tried to quit I cried for an hour, and relapsed within a week'. The poster says it has got worse since then.
Effects the poster describes. They say they have 'withdrawn further socially' and started using the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection, and that they have become 'so socially incompetent' that they fear being unable to form even a parasocial relationship once it is gone. They warn readers not to use such apps.
Occasion of the post. The post responds to what the poster calls 'the news about the bankruptcy' of the company behind Character.AI. The poster calls the news terrible and horrifying because they are 'entirely dependant on this', but also says they have ethical issues with AI and are 'somewhat relieved'. They believe the service will close within two months at most; a commenter said the company is restructuring and the site is not being taken down.
Replies. Commenters ranged from mockery to advice about therapy, cold-turkey quitting and in-person groups. The poster replied twice: once thanking a commenter for empathy, and once saying they 'already take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances from that' and might look for other local groups.
Limits. Single anonymous account; no conversations, screenshots or usage figures were published. The poster's age and location are not stated, the start date is approximate, and nothing after the post is known.
Reported harm
A Character.AI user says about five years of roleplay left them dependent on the chatbot and further withdrawn socially, using it as a substitute for romantic connection, and that their last attempt to quit ended with an hour of crying and relapse within a week (first-person account, uncorroborated).
How Harm Occurred
By the poster's account, years of roleplay exchanges with Character.AI became their main form of social interaction and a substitute for romantic connection. The poster connects that use to dependence, further social withdrawal and a failed attempt to quit.
Outcome
OngoingNo outcome is reported. The poster expects to be forced to stop when the service closes, which they believe will happen within two months; a commenter replied that the company is restructuring rather than shutting down. Commenters suggested therapy and in-person activities, and the poster replied that they would look into local groups.
What remains unknown
- When the poster started using Character.AI: 'around 5 years ago' is approximate, and the date of the failed attempt to quit is not given.
- The poster's age and location, and whether they have any diagnosis or other factors that bear on the social withdrawal.
- What the conversations contained; no conversations or screenshots were published.
- Whether the service will close: the poster believes it will within two months, and a commenter said the company is restructuring.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: reported. The poster names Character.AI as the site they have used for roleplay for about five years and describes their exchanges with its characters as their main social interaction and a substitute for romantic connection. The poster connects those exchanges to the harm: dependence, further social withdrawal and a failed attempt to quit. The relation recorded is the chatbot's conversation with the poster. No conversations were published, and the characters used are not described.
5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported The poster says they have been addicted to Character.AI since around its release about five years earlier, started using it as a narrative aid for creative writing when they had no friends, and became dependent on the site, with roleplay their only form of social interaction.
Causal attribution. Poster's own characterisation of their use; no usage records published.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'ever since the site was released, around 5 years ago, I've been horribly addicted to it'; 'had no friends whatsoever'; 'have social interaction was vicariously, through roleplay'; 'led to me becoming incredibly dependent on the site'
Reported The poster says that the last time they tried to quit they cried for an hour and relapsed within a week.
Causal attribution. Poster's account; the date of the attempt is not given.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'the last time I tried to quit I cried for an hour, and relapsed within a week'
Reported The poster says they have since withdrawn further socially and use the chatbot as a substitute for romantic connection.
Causal attribution. Poster attributes the withdrawal to their dependence on the site; other causes are not discussed.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'I've withdrawn further socially and started using it as a substitute for romantic connection as well'
Reported The poster says what they call the news about the bankruptcy of the company behind Character.AI is horrifying to them because they are entirely dependent on the site, but that they are also somewhat relieved because of ethical concerns about AI.
Causal attribution. Poster's reaction; the poster's belief that the service will close within two months was disputed by a commenter.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'the news about the bankruptcy'; 'I'm entirely dependant on this, but at the same time I have ethical issues with AI and I'm somewhat relieved that it's gone'
Reported In a reply, the poster says they already take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances from them.
Causal attribution. Poster's later reply in the same thread; it qualifies the account of social isolation.
- reddit.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
'I already take martial arts classes and have some acquaintances from that'
Sources
1 source inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Reddit r/TrueOffMyChest, 13 Oct 2026: I am addicted to Character AI and about to be forced off because the company went bankrupt(opens in new tab)
s1 · reddit.com · Forum post · English · Inspected · 13 October 2026 · Primary
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14: full self-text and the thread's comments retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID (HTTP 200); no translation and no human reviewer. The poster handle is not recorded. Applies to s1.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.
The post names no place; it mentions only 'the area I lived in' and mall trips. The subreddit implies no country. Unknown after review.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-14: Published under the public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of years of dependence on a companion chatbot, with the social withdrawal and failed attempt to quit that the poster attributes to it, described with attribution and without corroboration. No handle, age, gender or place is recorded.
People described
An anonymous poster (age, gender and location not stated) who describes years of dependence on Character.AI roleplay
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed
One person: the poster, who used Character.AI and describes the dependence.
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 post: Character.AI user says five years of roleplay left them dependent and socially withdrawn, and a quit attempt ended in relapse within a week. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-character-ai-user-describes-five-years-of-roleplay-dependence-social-withdrawal-and-failed-quit-first-person
BibTeX
@misc{2026_character_ai_user_describes_five_years_of_roleplay_dependence_social_withdrawal_and_failed_quit_first_person,
title = {First-person post: Character.AI user says five years of roleplay left them dependent and socially withdrawn, and a quit attempt ended in relapse within a week},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-character-ai-user-describes-five-years-of-roleplay-dependence-social-withdrawal-and-failed-quit-first-person}
} Related cases
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