More and more students are using ChatGPT for personal situations. What to do after a fight, heartbreak, or thoughts that keep going on and on? “Hey ChatGPT, I’m really not feeling well.”
Isa, a Teacher Education in Primary Schools student at Windesheim, now uses ChatGPT daily for personal questions. “I recently had a huge fight with my boyfriend. I wanted to talk about it, but it was already late. I was in bed and didn’t want to bother anyone. So I typed in: ‘I just had a huge fight, what can I do?’ ChatGPT was very helpful and asked questions back. I really felt like it helped me.”
Isa uses the chatbot for all sorts of things. “If I have to send a difficult message to a friend, I first ask how best to approach it. ChatGPT helps me find the right words and formulate a message. I also use it when I’m unsure how to handle my feelings or when my head is filled with questions or doubts. Then it helps me sort everything out.”
“I use it for so many crazy things. From asking a question about my appearance, like how long do gel nails last, to planning my week ahead.”
Isa is far from the only one. A NOS Stories survey of 1,300 young people between the ages of 13 and 20 shows that over three-quarters of them occasionally discuss personal matters via ChatGPT. Over half of them share their mental health issues. A large proportion even do so almost weekly.
Treacherous
Anneke Smits, professor in Educational Innovation & ICT at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, finds it a worrying development that young people with mental health issues are turning to ChatGPT. She believes it’s important to understand one thing. “ChatGPT doesn’t understand you. It seems smart, but it’s really just a giant calculator. It simply calculates which words often appear together. It has no understanding, no perception, and no experience. What it produces is empty language without knowledge. We, as humans, give it meaning, and that’s what makes it treacherous.”
She worries about the way we treat technology almost as human beings. “We really need to make it less mysterious. We think it understands us, but we’re actually talking to ourselves. It’s a mirror talking back, but in different words.”
Reciprocity
Student psychologist Astrid Vlak hasn’t heard many concrete stories from students about using ChatGPT for mental health issues, but she wants to be more aware of this. “I understand that the 24/7 availability of a chatbot is appealing, and students feel they can always go somewhere with their worries and problems.” She also sees a risk in this. “A chatbot always answers, but there’s no real reciprocity. In contact with others, you really learn to deal with uncomfortable situations and unexpected emotions, something you don’t learn from a bot.”
Isa appreciates that ChatGPT is always available and that there are few consequences. “I actually have no hesitation about not using it. I just throw everything in there without thinking. If I want to share something with friends, I hesitate first. Should I say this? What will they think? ChatGPT doesn’t judge, and that just makes it easier.”
Substitute
According to Vlak, that very accessibility also presents a risk. “You always get a friendly response, but that’s not the same as a real conversation. A person can confront you, be quiet, or ask critical questions. ChatGPT can help clarify or analyze something, but it’s no substitute for human contact. If something’s bothering you, we, as student psychologists, are there to help you figure out what’s going on.”
She also emphasizes the importance of talking to people around you. “If students want to express their thoughts, a chatbot can help them organize those thoughts or practice how to express something. But it’s important to then engage in conversation with a real person. This teaches students very important life skills and benefits their mental well-being.”
Isa knows ChatGPT isn’t a real person, but it still helps her. “Sometimes I just need to get something off my chest. I just throw it out there, get something back, and it’s a relief. If something’s really bothering me, I talk about it with friends or my therapist. But ChatGPT is just easier sometimes.”
Calculator
According to professor Smits, ChatGPT is simply not suitable for personal or emotional support. “You really shouldn’t use it at all for these kinds of questions. If something is bothering you, it’s better to consult something you know is reliable, like the Municipal Health Service (GGD) or a another support organization. Not a calculator that makes mistakes.” She emphasizes that ChatGPT always works based on averages. “The most common answers are presented in slightly different terms. But that doesn’t make it a good answer, especially not when it comes to truly personal problems.”
Smits points out that many chatbots use user input to train their language models. “This can unintentionally reveal personal information about the user. Sometimes you can disable the use of your conversations in a chatbot’s settings. It’s important not to use chatbots that train on your input.” She believes the solution lies not in banning it, but in understanding it. “We need to explain much more clearly to students what ChatGPT actually is, and especially what it isn’t. With that knowledge, they can make a well-informed decision about whether or not to use it.”
Psychologists at Windesheim
ChatGPT serves as a listening ear for Isa, but not everyone finds relief that way. Sometimes thoughts keep racing, you feel exhausted, or you notice your studies are suffering. If you notice your studies falling behind or continue to struggle with mental health issues, contact Windesheim’s student psychologists.
You can contact the student psychologist if you:
You often feel depressed
- You suffer from anxiety or panic
- You feel insecure
- You have difficulty setting boundaries or being assertive
- You have identity questions
- You experience stress or fear of failure
- You struggle with loneliness
- You experience relationship problems
- You have physical complaints without a clear medical cause
These complaints are just a sample of the issues students may face. The student psychologists want students to know that they are welcome with any issues that hinder them. They can be found at Windesheim’s Student Support Center.
text: Kyra Schuurkamp
illustrations: Judy Ballast
