ChatGPT as a coping mechanism for social isolation: An analysis of user experiences and perceptions of social support

Mohammed Alzyoudi 1 * , Karima Al Mazroui 1
More Detail
1 Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities, Abu Dhabi, UAE
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 14, Issue 3, Article No: e202433. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/14617
OPEN ACCESS   1146 Views   1241 Downloads   Published online: 14 May 2024
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social isolation, ChatGPT usage, and social support perceptions among older adults. A sample of 65 participants aged 50 and above completed self-report questionnaires assessing social isolation, ChatGPT usage, and social support perceptions. The results indicated that social isolation is moderately prevalent among older adults, and ChatGPT usage is significantly related to social support perceptions, independent of age, gender, education, and employment status. The findings suggest that ChatGPT may be a useful tool for addressing social isolation among older adults. The study provides insight into the potential benefits of using ChatGPT as an alternative source of social support for older adults experiencing social isolation.
Keywords: social isolation, ChatGPT, social support perceptions, older adults, coping mechanisms

CITATION

Alzyoudi, M., & Al Mazroui, K. (2024). ChatGPT as a coping mechanism for social isolation: An analysis of user experiences and perceptions of social support. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 14(3), e202433. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/14617

REFERENCES

  • Abdullah, M., Madain, A., & Jararweh, Y. (2022). ChatGPT: Fundamentals, applications and social impacts. In Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Social Networks Analysis, Management and Security (pp. 1-8). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SNAMS58071.2022.10062688
  • AlAli, R., Wardat, Y., & Al-Qahtani, M. (2023). SWOM strategy and influence of its using on developing mathematical thinking skills and on metacognitive thinking among gifted tenth-grade students. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(3), em2238. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/12994
  • Alneyadi, S., Abulibdeh, E., & Wardat, Y. (2023a). The impact of digital environment vs. traditional method on literacy skills: Reading and writing of Emirati fourth graders. Sustainability, 15, 3418. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043418
  • Alneyadi, S., Wardat, Y., Alshannag, Q., & Abu-Al-Aish, A. (2023b). The effect of using smart e-learning app on the academic achievement of eighth-grade students. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(4), em2248. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13067
  • Belkhir, A., & Sadat, F. (2023). Beyond information: Is ChatGPT empathetic enough? In Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Recent Advances in Natural Language Processing (pp. 159-169). https://doi.org/10.26615/978-954-452-092-2_018
  • Biswas, S. S. (2023). Role of ChatGPT in public health. Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 51(5), 868-869. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-023-03172-7
  • Cheng, S.-W., Chang, C.-W., Chang, W.-J., Wang, H.-W., Liang, C.-S., Kishimoto, T., Chang, J. P.-C., Kuo, J. S., & Su, K.-P. (2023). The now and future of ChatGPT and GPT in psychiatry. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 77(11), 592-596. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcn.13588
  • Chonody, J. M., Gabb, J., Killian, M., & Dunk-West, P. (2018). Measuring relationship quality in an international study: Exploratory and confirmatory factor validity. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(8), 920-930. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731516631120
  • Corbett, C. F., Wright, P. J., Jones, K., & Parmer, M. (2021). Voice-activated virtual home assistant use and social isolation and loneliness among older adults: Mini review. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.742012
  • Cornwell, E. Y., & Waite, L. J. (2009). Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and health among older adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 50(1), 31-48. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650905000103
  • Danieli, M., Ciulli, T., Mousavi, S. M., & Riccardi, G. (2021). A conversational artificial intelligence agent for a mental health care app: Evaluation study of its participatory design. JMIR Formative Research, 5(12), e30053. https://doi.org/10.2196/30053
  • Dickens, A. P., Richards, S. H., Greaves, C. J., & Campbell, J. L. (2011). Interventions targeting social isolation in older people: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 11(1), 647. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-647
  • Donovan, N. J., & Blazer, D. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults: Review and commentary of a national academies report. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(12), 1233-1244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2020.08.005
  • Fresco, D. M., Mennin, D. S., Heimberg, R. G., & Ritter, M. (2013). Emotion regulation therapy for generalized anxiety disorder. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 20(3), 282-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2013.02.001
  • Fui-Hoon Nah, F., Zheng, R., Cai, J., Siau, K., & Chen, L. (2023). Generative AI and ChatGPT: Applications, challenges, and AI-human collaboration. Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research, 25(3), 277-304. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228053.2023.2233814
  • Goodman, R. S., Patrinely, J. R., Osterman, T., Wheless, L., & Johnson, D. B. (2023). On the cusp: Considering the impact of artificial intelligence language models in healthcare. Med, 4(3), 139-140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2023.02.008
  • Han, X., Zhang, Z., Ding, N., Gu, Y., Liu, X., Huo, Y., Qiu, J., Yao, Y., Zhang, A., Zhang, L., Han, W., Huang, W., Jin, Q., Lan, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, Z., Lu, Z., Qiu, X., Song, R., ..., & Zhu, J. (2021). Pre-trained models: Past, present and future. AI Open, 2, 225-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiopen.2021.08.002
  • Hidayat, R., & Wardat, Y. (2023). A systematic review of augmented reality in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. Education and Information Technologies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12157-x
  • Hwang, T.-J., Rabheru, K., Peisah, C., Reichman, W., & Ikeda, M. (2020). Loneliness and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Psychogeriatrics, 32(10), 1217-1220. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610220000988
  • Jarrah, A. M., Almassri, H., Johnson, J. D., & Wardat, Y. (2022). Assessing the impact of digital games-based learning on students’ performance in learning fractions using (ABACUS) software application. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 18(10), em2159. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/12421
  • Jarrah, A. M., Wardat, Y., & Fidalgo, P. (2023). Using ChatGPT in academic writing is (not) a form of plagiarism: What does the literature say? Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 13(4), e202346. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/13572
  • Johnson, D., Goodman, R., Patrinely, J., Stone, C., Zimmerman, E., Donald, R., Chang, S., Berkowitz, S., Finn, A., Jahangir, E., Scoville, E., Reese, T., Friedman, D., Bastarache, J., van der Heijden, Y., Wright, J., Carter, N., Alexander, M., Choe, J., …, & Wheless, L. (2023). Assessing the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated medical responses: An evaluation of the ChatGPT model. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2566942/v1
  • Jones, V. K., Hanus, M., Yan, C., Shade, M. Y., Blaskewicz Boron, J., & Maschieri Bicudo, R. (2021). Reducing loneliness among aging adults: The roles of personal voice assistants and anthropomorphic interactions. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.750736
  • Kalla, D., & Smith, N. (2023). Study and analysis of ChatGPT and its impact on different fields of study. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 8(3).
  • Kamin, S. T., Beyer, A., & Lang, F. R. (2020). Social support is associated with technology use in old age. Zeitschrift Für Gerontologie Und Geriatrie [Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics], 53(3), 256-262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-019-01529-z
  • Khalil, I., Hashim, R., Wardat, Y., & Alasmari, N. (2023). Exploring primary school mathematics teachers’ strategies for enhancing students’ mathematical writing skills. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 13(4), 196. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2023-0102
  • Kramer, L. L., Mulder, B. C., van Velsen, L., & de Vet, E. (2021). Use and effect of web-based embodied conversational agents for improving eating behavior and decreasing loneliness among community-dwelling older adults: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(1), e22186. https://doi.org/10.2196/22186
  • Latikka, R., Rubio-Hernández, R., Lohan, E. S., Rantala, J., Nieto Fernández, F., Laitinen, A., & Oksanen, A. (2021). Older adults’ loneliness, social isolation, and physical information and communication technology in the era of ambient assisted living: A systematic literature review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(12), e28022. https://doi.org/10.2196/28022
  • Li, Y. (2021). Modeling contextual information for chit-chat conversation [PhD thesis, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University].
  • Milne-Ives, M., de Cock, C., Lim, E., Shehadeh, M. H., de Pennington, N., Mole, G., Normando, E., & Meinert, E. (2020). The effectiveness of artificial intelligence conversational agents in health care: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10), e20346. https://doi.org/10.2196/20346
  • Ozbay, F., Johnson, D. C., Dimoulas, E., Morgan, C. A., Charney, D., & Southwick, S. (2007). Social support and resilience to stress: From neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry, 4(5), 35-40.
  • Park, S., & Kim, B. (2022). The impact of everyday AI-based smart speaker use on the well-being of older adults living alone. Technology in Society, 71, 102133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2022.102133
  • Perlis, R. H. (2023). Research letter: Application of GPT-4 to select next-step antidepressant treatment in major depression. MedRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.04.14.23288595
  • Pietrabissa, G., & Simpson, S. G. (2020). Psychological consequences of social isolation during COVID-19 outbreak. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02201
  • Rathnayaka, P., Mills, N., Burnett, D., De Silva, D., Alahakoon, D., & Gray, R. (2022). A mental health chatbot with cognitive skills for personalized behavioral activation and remote health monitoring. Sensors, 22(10), 3653. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22103653
  • Reyhani Haghighi, S., Pasandideh Saqalaksari, M., & Johnson, S. N. (2023). Artificial intelligence in ecology: A commentary on a chatbot’s perspective. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 104(4), e2097. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.2097
  • Ring, L., Barry, B., Totzke, K., & Bickmore, T. (2013). Addressing loneliness and isolation in older adults: Proactive affective agents provide better support. In Proceedings of the Humane Association Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (pp. 61-66). https://doi.org/10.1109/ACII.2013.17
  • Roddick, C. (2019). Loneliness and the heart: Examining the associations between trait loneliness, state loneliness, and high-frequency heart rate variability [Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia]. https://doi.org/10.14288/1.0380492
  • Rutten, B. P. F., Hammels, C., Geschwind, N., Menne-Lothmann, C., Pishva, E., Schruers, K., den Hove, D., Kenis, G., Os, J., & Wichers, M. (2013). Resilience in mental health: Linking psychological and neurobiological perspectives. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 128(1), 3-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12095
  • Saleh, S., AlAli, R., Wardat, Y., Al-Qahtani, M., Soliman, Y., & Helali, M. (2023). Structural relationships between learning emotion and knowledge organization and management processes in distance learning environments: An applied study. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 13, 1569-1589. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13090114
  • Sharma, A., Lin, I. W., Miner, A. S., Atkins, D. C., & Althoff, T. (2023). Human-AI collaboration enables more empathic conversations in text-based peer-to-peer mental health support. Nature Machine Intelligence, 5(1), 46-57. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-022-00593-2
  • Singh, S., & Beniwal, H. (2022). A survey on near-human conversational agents. Journal of King Saud University-Computer and Information Sciences, 34(10), 8852-8866. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2021.10.013
  • Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663
  • Tashtoush, M. A., AlAli, R., Wardat, Y., Alshraifin, N., & Toubat, H. (2023a). The impact of information and communication technologies (ICT)-based education on the mathematics academic enthusiasm. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 13(3), 284. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2023-0077
  • Tashtoush, M. A., Wardat, Y., & Elsayed, A. M. (2023b). Mathematics distance learning and learning loss during COVID-19 pandemic: Teachers’ perspectives. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 23(5). https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetp.v23i5.5933
  • Valtolina, S., & Hu, L. (2021). Charlie: A chatbot to improve the elderly quality of life and to make them more active to fight their sense of loneliness. In Proceedings of the 14th Biannual Conference of the Italian SIGCHI Chapter (pp. 1-5). https://doi.org/10.1145/3464385.3464726
  • van Lingen, M. N., Giesbertz, N. A. A., van Tintelen, J. P., & Jongsma, K. R. (2023). Why we should understand conversational AI as a tool. The American Journal of Bioethics, 23(5), 22-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2023.2191039
  • Wang, Q., Peng, S., Zha, Z., Han, X., Deng, C., Hu, L., & Hu, P. (2023). Enhancing the conversational agent with a social support system for mental health digital therapeutics. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1148534
  • Wardat, Y., AlAli, R., Jarrah, A. M., & Alzyoudi, M. (2023a). Neutrosophic theory framework for building mathematics teachers capacity in assessment of high school students in the United Arab Emirates. International Journal of Neutrosophic Science, 21(1), 33-50. https://doi.org/10.54216/IJNS.210103
  • Wardat, Y., Belase, S., Tairab, H., Takriti, R., Efstratopoulou, M., & Dodeen, H. (2023b) .The influence of student factors on students’ achievement in the trends in international mathematics and science study in Abu Dhabi Emirate schools. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1168032. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1168032
  • Wardat, Y., Tashtoush, M. A., AlAli, R., & Jarrah, A. M. (2023c). ChatGPT: A revolutionary tool for teaching and learning mathematics. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 19(7), em2286. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/13272
  • Watts, G. J. (2014). Relationship among self-efficacy, social support, job satisfaction, and teacher-related burnout [PhD thesis, Northcentral University].
  • Zakariya, Y. F., & Wardat, Y. (2023). Job satisfaction of mathematics teachers: An empirical investigation to quantify the contributions of teacher self-efficacy and teacher motivation to teach. Mathematics Education Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-023-00475-9