{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-05T08:49:59.709Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"self-described-addiction","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":1,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2023-character-ai-minor-describes-being-unable-to-stop-roleplay-chatbot-use-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'because I am still a minor'; 'had this problem since 2023'; 'I downloaded C.ai because everyone was downloading it'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they feel embarrassed after every use of the app and are actively trying to stop.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."}],"effects":[{"label":"self-described inability to stop using roleplay chatbots since 2023 (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"embarrassment and disgust after each use (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1wxtnct/i_have_an_ai_chatbot_addiction_please_give_me_tips/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"reddit-antiai-chatbot-addiction-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"The poster does not say where they live; no country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"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","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2023-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-04","aiSystem":"Character.AI roleplay chatbots (the poster writes C.ai)","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc.","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster. Commenters who say they had the same problem are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1wxtnct/i_have_an_ai_chatbot_addiction_please_give_me_tips/","primarySourceLabel":"r/antiai, 4 October 2026: \"I have an AI chatbot addiction. Please give me tips.\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-05T03:16:20.030658+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T03:16:20.030658+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","character-ai","minor","compulsive-use","roleplay","self-described-addiction","communicated-with"]}]}