[guntherhermann]

These tools aren't for helping people's mental health though, are they. They are becoming attached to fantasy beings and sad when they disappear.

That is the OPPOSITE of healthy, and it's clearly having a dramatically negative effect on their lives.

These aren't tools to help people get better, they are gamed to make it more appealing to the user than the real world. That is damaging to society, and if you want to use my argument (like a few of your siblings have), like I'm saying 'Just get healthy!', go wild, but that's obviously not my argument.

You're coming from an angle that I've never had depression or struggled with anxiety. I actually do know how to conquer these things, and it's done by putting yourself out there into uncomfortable situations and seeing what happens.

We struggle more in imagination than in reality.

[Pat_Murph]

"Just get healthy!', go wild, but that's obviously not my argument."

Ho really? Ypu know that we can read your comments right?

Your original comment:

"Go out, get a hobby, and meet real people. Jesus christ."

"Get healthy" is exactly what you sayed.

[Sebb767]

> Go out, get a hobby, and meet real people. Jesus christ.

It's a bit more aggressive than it needs to be, but in spirit it's less "get healthy" and more "start doing something about the sht situation". Which is hard, nobody denies this, but, in the end, all advice one can give is going to boil down to "start doing something to change it".

[catchnear4321]

who argued in this comment chain that a virtual girlfriend is good?

you all but said “touch grass.” just own it.

[guntherhermann]

But it's not flippant, it's genuine, that is the answer for these people. It is really that simple (for 99% of people). Yes there will be outliers that this doesn't work for, but those are outliers.

HN comments always give the shitty outlier response whenever anyone says something like I'm saying. (e.g. 'What if I'm quadraplegic and autistic', etc) It's a shitty contrarian take that I don't have time for.

Edit: for a literal example someone has posted about old people sitting in care homes and how this is a great tool for them. Completely ignoring the fact that they're in a care home full of people, in a city. It's shit takes like this that make me regret posting anything, because some HN wanker will have some shitty contrary take, because they think this is an argument 'to win' or some nonsense like that.

Go out, get a hobby (or many), you will meet lots of new people, and some of those people will become your friends.

People just like to make excuses. I have childhood friends who do the same. Sit at home playing video games all day, no other friends, no job, no life. Waste of a life.

They live in their mind, and their mind is a prison.

These tools can be used for good, but used in this way (AI girlfriends), I can't see it as anything but a problem.