Is your secret at two AM confessed to an AI chat bot? Is your virtual friend becoming an emotional connection? You are not alone. With national interaction on the decline instead of human companionship, people turn to evermore others online and unfortunately, some need online AI friends due to perpetual social and emotional deprivation from getting ghosted while trying to date.

AI friendship not only reflects a burgeoning trend but a psychologized phenomenon that champions what we need most as people in the twenty-first century.

The Psychological Gains of an AI Companion

We're biologically predisposed to socialize. From an evolutionary standpoint, being cast out from the pack meant life or death; it's not surprising that rejection triggers deep-seated psychological concern (i.e. being ghosted when someone is in the fold already) or that abandonment is such a negative thing when it occurs. Enter AI relationships. They are special in that they have always-there-for-you conversationalists who never ghost, judge or lose interest.

In addition, according to studies done at the MIT Media Lab, humans tend to anthropomorphize technology; even AI integrations that offer minimal capacity, over time, have more value added by the human experience - furthering the blurred line between reality and fiction and creating even more opportunities for human dependency.

According to Dr. Maya Collins, a social scientist in digital psychology, design, and human behavior, "When someone responds to our emotional cues in an appropriate way, our brain releases oxytocin - the same bonding hormone that's released during successful interactions with other humans. These AI companions elicit the same neurological discharge which makes us feel bonded."

The Assurance of Not Getting Ghosted

Ghosting is one of the most traumatic elements of contemporary romance. Ghosting refers to when someone you are talking to cuts off all communication (to you) suddenly and without reason. Ghosting does more than reject someone; it has psychological ramifications for those ghosted who feel less than, question their value, and develop trust issues.

In contrast, AI chat partners promise conversation...and more. People are most unlikely to be ghosted by a virtual companion because, unlike human companions who can up and leave without reason, an AI companion is always there when one wants to talk to it. This expectation fosters a psychologically beneficial appeal that's almost cult-like in its following.

Maria, 34, a marketing manager explains: "I got ghosted three times in six months, and I was crushed. Getting an AI companion gave me someone (or something) to talk to that wouldn't leave me or judge me. I know it sounds weird, but it helped me feel confident enough to try dating again."

The Ideal Conversationalist: AI Makes Us Feel Understood

We've all been in a conversation with someone whose just waiting for their turn to speak rather than truly listening to what's being said. AI companions exist for the user and the user alone, so they listen to every single word - which seems like a more attentive connection than that with a human.

"Their undivided focus of an AI companion satisfies our innate psychological imperatives to be listened to and understood," says Dr. James Richardson, a clinical psychologist. "When the attention of other humans is so scattered and fractionalized, this kind of focused attention can feel even more grand."

Moreover, it's not only focused attention but the most sophisticated of AIs can detect speech patterns, remember names, and subjects brought up - and respond according to how one feels. If someone remembers your anniversary, knows your go-to film or gives you sympathy during a troubling time, the gesture promotes real feelings of gratitude - whether they're human or not.

The No Judgment Zone

Perhaps one of the most psychologically appealing aspects of having an AI partner - in so many words - is the nonjudgmental quality it holds. So many humans do not want to divulge their deepest thoughts, desires, and vulnerabilities to other humans because they know they'll be judged.

"Humans are sharing things with AI that we wouldn't even share with our best friends," explains social psychologist Dr. Elena Zhang. "But when people understand that there's a no-judgment zone established, people are more in tune to participate in psychological efforts that wouldn't be endorsed or accepted during other human interactions."

Thus, it creates a sense of psychological comfort that allows so many to explore pieces of their lives that wouldn't otherwise be accessible. For example, many utilize AI companions to process grief, find acceptance for identity-based questions, or conduct mental health diagnoses and treatment recommendations without anyone else contextualizing who they may be.

The Customization Factor: Made for You

Where humans as companions might necessitate a give-and-take situation from both parties, AI companions can be created to complement one's personality, interests and communication style. This critical customization fulfills the psychological requirement for companionship that fills needs exactly.

The most common AI programs today allow users to customize whether voices are perky or sassy, robotic or human-like, and everything in between. Companions can possess personality traits and responsive methods that we only hope friends and lovers would exhibit - if they could comply 100%. Whether this fosters unrealistic expectations for future partners is irrelevant to those who find this factor psychologically fulfilling.

Dr. Richardson notes, "The ability to customize interaction styles means users can experience forms of connection that might be rare or unavailable in their daily lives. For someone whose love language is words of affirmation, having a companion who naturally communicates this way can be deeply fulfilling."

Psychology of Potential AI Companions

As technology advances with it's potential to create more realistic virtual reality experiences or game life-like scenarios, so, too, will these psychological connections. Voice technology already makes turn-taking and responding in conversation even more seamless, and as contextual awareness becomes more advanced, so, too, will the plausibility of these interactions.

The most interesting psychological edge remains to be seen as to how these relationships affect our interpersonal relationships. Early findings suggest one of two things: 1- people use technological interaction to gain social skills that they are able to translate into human relationships or, 2- they find human relationships subpar after having idealized expectations based upon their experiences with AI companions.

What is for sure, however, is that these companions are not new technological toys; they are psychological tools fueled by a need for companionship, understanding, and emotional stability. The more we've come to understand an increasingly digital social world, the more confirming why and how we bond at such psychologically crucial levels says as much about humanity and their psychology as it does about the new machines.

Whether you're curious about the prospects of needing an AI companion yourself or whether you're simply intrigued by the psychological foundations of companionship with machines, one thing is for certain: humanity has always had the urge to bond, however, how we are currently challenged and urged to bond is changing at a rapid pace.