A recent study found that only 20 percent of students have used the government’s mental health support program, and that they tend to first ask artificial intelligence (AI) when they encounter emotional problems.
The Taiwan Counseling Psychologist Union (TCPU) from April to September conducted a survey on stress among university students, collecting 2,558 responses, 70 percent of which were from women.
The union announced the results at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: REUTERS
The survey found that 97.1 percent of students support the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s mental health support program for young adults, but only 20.3 percent have used it.
When they encounter mental health issues, some students first consult AI tools to help them regulate their emotions, said Chen Po-lin (陳柏霖), a professor at National Taipei University of Education’s Department of Psychology and Counseling.
This shows that emerging technologies are gradually being applied in the mental health field, and the industry is even developing related platforms, Chen said.
However, AI tools still have limitations and can make mistakes, especially when asked to name or diagnose a mental illness, he said.
There have been cases abroad where consulting AI has led to suicide, which is a big concern in the academic community, he said.
Talking to AI could provide support and comfort, helping people feel heard and better understand their emotions, TCPU deputy chair Wang Yu-ming (王郁茗) said.
The concern in the past few years has been that individuals might lose their self-awareness and only seek comfort through interactions with AI, thus avoiding real-life experiences and the diverse stimuli of the real world, she said.
As a result, when returning to regular social environments, they might face difficulties adjusting, which could negatively impact genuine human-to-human interactions, she added.
Wang gave an example of a student who previously took a screenshot of an unpleasant conversation with a classmate and sent it to an AI tool, asking it whether the friend was a “good friend or a bad friend,” or whether there was “malice or no malice.”
If the student used this as a way to gain direction for thinking, and was willing to check the situation against the real world and discuss it with others, AI could be a tool with positive benefits, she said, adding that, if not, humans would instead become the ones providing data to AI.
“The real world is not always comfortable, but that’s what is real,” she said.
The rapid development of new tools and technologies is an unstoppable trend, she said.
“We should focus on how to ensure these new technologies have a positive impact, and address related legal and ethical issues in order to use them properly,” she said, urging AI users to avoid excessive usage and to remain constantly aware of their own emotions.
As long as people also communicate with their friends and check in with reality, then AI could be a useful tool, she added.
Schools should teach students how to properly use AI, so they are not merely providing data to train it, she said.
The survey also assessed students’ social emotional learning (SEL), including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, interpersonal relationships and responsible decisionmaking, to evaluate students’ mental resilience.
The 40.5 percent of students who rated their performance as “slightly below their actual ability” had the highest SEL scores of 3.02 points, whereas the 4.9 percent who considered their performance “far below their actual ability” had the lowest SEL scores of 2.85 points.
Humility and self-reflection are key to increasing SEL, Chen said, adding that women performed better than men in terms of understanding others’ emotions, social interactions and making responsible decisions.
National Taiwan Normal University Students’ Union president Sean Huang (黃莨騰) said that universities could provide more resources, adding that students who seek counseling assistance often cannot make an appointment.
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