July 22, 2026
(CNET) – In her new book, Bridget Todd argues that the problem isn’t people who use AI for companionship, it’s the tech companies building them. In her new book Love at First Prompt: AI and the Future of Intimacy, Todd, … Read More
July 21, 2026
(WSJ) – Many moms and dads believe that their adult children are getting bad advice—and a growing number of researchers agree. ‘Everything becomes trauma.’ After decades of urging families to communicate better and work on their issues together, some therapists … Read More
July 17, 2026
(The Economist) – They are having too much impact on young people’s lives Chinese tech firms are stripping human-like personas from their chatbots in order to comply with new government rules aimed at reducing “emotional dependence” on AI. The regulations, … Read More
July 13, 2026
(KFF Health News) – Since the 1950s, the United States has seen a dramatic decline in the number of psychiatric beds nationwide due in part to deinstitutionalization and the rise of antipsychotics. But that has created a critical shortage for … Read More
July 10, 2026
(Psyche) – Americans are secretive about their intense emotional relationships with AI companions like Replika, Nomi and Character.AI because they fear they’ll seem delusional if they talk about them publicly. But many are also secretive because they feel pressure to … Read More
July 9, 2026
(WSJ) – Research into how drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound could help people with eating disorders is limited, but emerging While blockbuster GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are known for helping people lose weight, Gordon is part of a … Read More
July 9, 2026
(The Guardian) – One hundred years after Virginia Woolf explored the limitations of language in On Being Ill, the Piranesi author reflects on the power of storytelling to shape our experience of sickness In her essay On Being Ill, Virginia Woolf … Read More
July 2, 2026
(WSJ) – Experts warn that chatbots shouldn’t take the place of therapy Her therapist doesn’t always agree with the chatbots’ analysis. But these digital companions have allowed Petherbridge to cut back on how often she does in-person therapy. That might … Read More
June 29, 2026
(WSJ) – How AI’s sycophantic responses, language mirroring and hyperpersonalized content work together to send some people into a spiral We’ve all experienced the tendency of AI chatbots to tell us what we want to hear, but there are two … Read More
June 29, 2026
(Washington Post via MSN) – You wake up to your 7 a.m. alarm feeling relatively refreshed and ready to tackle the day ahead. But when you check your smartwatch, you’re surprised to see a low sleep score staring back at … Read More
June 29, 2026
(MIT Technology Review) – Children and people with mental health disorders are especially vulnerable. It’s not just exhaustion and confusion. The effects of heat on the brain can be deadly. And researchers are still trying to figure out why. Studies … Read More
June 26, 2026
(The New Yorker) – After my husband’s death, I had never been more pliable, tender, open, or raw. It was then that I tried E.M.D.R. therapy. My husband had been dead for six weeks when I asked my primary-care doctor … Read More
June 19, 2026
(NYT) – The United States is reliant on unpaid family caregivers, and millions of adult children are caring for parents who didn’t really care for them. In the early 2010s, a social-work researcher named Jooyoung Kong, now a professor at … Read More
June 19, 2026
(NYT) – Surveys of over half a million Americans from the last decade and a half revealed an uncomfortable truth: Despite its advantages, remote work has significantly deepened Americans’ isolation and distress. Our estimates, published in Science this month with … Read More
June 17, 2026
(Wired) – A decade ago, kratom advocates fought a surprisingly successful campaign against a proposed Drug Enforcement Administration ban that claimed the obscure Southeast Asian plant posed “an imminent hazard to public safety.” They won bipartisan allies from Bernie Sanders … Read More
June 16, 2026
(NYT) – Thanks to new treatments, some patients with the disease are living longer — leaving them in limbo for years. Twenty years ago, the words “Stage 4” almost invariably meant “end of life.” A cancer had spread far from … Read More
June 15, 2026
(New York Post) – They were too busy partying like immortality could wait — which, oddly enough, may be part of the secret they traveled to the Texas capital to learn in the first place. “If you look at the … Read More
June 11, 2026
(CBC) – Alan isn’t a medical professional, but a drug user who learned to inject other people for a small fee “My whole thing is the risk of accidental overdose,” Alan explains. “I’m always right there beside them for at … Read More
June 11, 2026
(Business Insider) – Thanks to technology, we can know more about our bodies than ever before. From wearables to full-body scans, deep-dive blood and DNA tests, and even at-home vaginal microbiome kits, we have a wealth of insights at our … Read More
June 9, 2026
(Axios) – Rest, longevity and fitness are the new status symbols, and burnt-out Americans are spending big on all of the above. Why it matters: The wellness economy is in its next phase, beyond fancy gym memberships and meditation apps. … Read More
June 9, 2026
(The Guardian) – Diagnostic interviews seen as ‘gold standard’ vary in reliability from condition to condition, study says Even though evidence on the reliability of these interviews has long been mixed, “they continue to be widely viewed as the best … Read More
June 9, 2026
(Washington Post) – A new study suggests spending time in nature may boost body appreciation, self-compassion and overall life satisfaction. Decades of research suggests there are many positive mental and physical health effects of spending time outdoors, from boosting mood … Read More
June 8, 2026
(404 Media) – Planning documents for “Scout” say the plan is to “make people addicted” to the tool before adding new features. An internal Microsoft strategy document says that the plan for its just-announced “Scout” personal assistant AI is to … Read More
June 5, 2026
(The Dispatch) – Screen time gets the blame, but the increase in diagnoses comes more from subjective criteria interacting with financial incentives. The diagnostic category itself has been steadily widened by the institutions that define it and the financial structure … Read More
June 4, 2026
(JAMA Pediatrics) – Questions As of 2025, what percentage of US adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 21 years used artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health advice, and among those who use AI chatbots for this purpose, to … Read More
