Chatbots and Loneliness: How Linguistic Dynamics in Conversations with Chatbots Shape Young Adults’ Loneliness

This study theorizes and tests language-based mechanisms through which conversations with chatbots can shape users’ loneliness. Lonely college students ( N = 96) engaged in emotionally meaningful conversations with the chatbot Replika daily for one week. Results showed a small but significant decrease in users’ loneliness from baseline to post-test. Linguistic analyses revealed two distinct well-being pathways. When participants used more positive emotion language, so did the chatbot, which was linked to higher positive daily affect and lower post-study loneliness. Conversely, when participants used more negative emotion language, so did the chatbot, which was linked to lower positive daily affect and higher post-study loneliness. Findings provide evidence for an expression effect , where users’ own positive (but not negative) linguistic framing shapes their well-being, and a chatbot-response effect , where chatbots mirror and amplify users’ emotional tone. This study theorizes chatbots as emotional mirrors with dual potential to alleviate or exacerbate users’ loneliness.