letters to strangersmental health made personal
digital emotional literacy guide
letters to strangersmental health made personal
digital emotional literacy guide
While some uses of AI may hurt social and mental health, there are techniques, platforms, and tools that could actively supplement or promote human connection.1Nemetz & Kraft, 2025 — Foundation for Social Connection After all, not all young people are navigating the same social landscape, and AI tools can help many create human connection rather than retreat from it.
Select a group to see where carefully-used AI tools can open doors that were previously closed.
For young people living with disabilities or chronic conditions, the barriers to social participation are often practical ones. AI makes communication possible through eye-tracking and voice-recognition software, enabling people with disabilities to access information and participate in social life in ways that were not always previously available. The former UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, Gerard Quinn, has noted that AI-enabled systems can address specific individual needs and expand possibilities for persons with disabilities to live independently.2UNRIC, 2024 — AI and the inclusion of persons with disabilities
For neurodivergent young people, or those with social disorders, the challenge is often not a lack of desire for connection but a gap in the scaffolding needed to pursue it. AI can help those with ADHD craft clear messages and manage cognitive load, assist autistic individuals in decoding vague language, and break complex tasks into more manageable steps. Used carefully, these tools may enable neurodivergent young people to participate more fully in social environments that were not designed with them in mind.3Hazle, 2024 — PwC Australia
For LGBTQIA+ youth, the question of connection carries particular weight. Members of the LGBTQ community experience depression, anxiety, and suicidality in disproportional numbers, with those disparities driven substantially by discrimination, stigma, and identity-related stress.4Meyer, 2003 — Psychological Bulletin5Valentine & Shipherd, 2018 — Clinical Psychology Review For young people exploring their identity in households or communities where that journey is not safe or supported, AI tools can offer a degree of privacy and low-risk exploration that is harder to find elsewhere. A scoping review in the Journal of Medical Internet Research identified several AI applications developed for LGBTQ communities - ranging from suicide risk identification to resource provision for youth in underserved areas - and found them to be well-received, though the authors noted the need for larger and longer-term studies before firm conclusions can be drawn.6Bragazzi et al., 2023 — Journal of Medical Internet Research
The risks documented elsewhere in this publication should not be minimized. However, the picture is not uniform. There are people who do find benefits from using AI. Oftentimes, they’re the same people who are given the least access to existing forms of support - from individuals with disabilities, to those who are neurodivergent, to folks navigating marginalized identities.
When used carefully, AI can play a role in addressing some of those gaps.