"It's Not a Real Person That Actually Cares About You": Young People's Perceptions and Use of Virtual Companions

Paper in proceeding, 2026

Virtual companions, a type of AI technology that enables users to form social relationships with them, are becoming increasingly common. However, much is still unknown about how people perceive them, and young people in particular may face the greatest impact and potential harm from this new technology that has not yet been thoroughly examined. We interviewed 17 young people (ages 17-19) to explore their perceptions and use of virtual companions. Using thematic analysis, we identified five themes describing the young people's views on virtual companions, including aspects such as features and capabilities, authenticity, risks, opportunities, and mental health impact. Our findings give insights into young people and their hesitance towards using virtual companions for emotional support, and preference to use them as tools. While they acknowledge the opportunities, such as virtual companions helping alleviate loneliness, many also bring up risks, such as interactions with virtual companions creating misleading expectations of relationships. We conclude with recommendations derived from the interviews, targeted towards different groups who work with virtual companions, such as researchers, designers and developers, and policymakers. Our interviews provide a deeper understanding of young people's perspectives on virtual companions and offer implications for designing virtual companions that better support social and emotional needs.