"Comforted by DeepSeek Every Night Before Sleep"... What's Happening to Chinese Women in Their 20s?

Chinese Youths Seeking Psychological Counseling with DeepSeek
"Finding Comfort Through Conversations Amid an Uncertain Future"

More Chinese youths are turning to psychological counseling using the AI model 'R1' developed by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

On the 12th (local time), the British broadcaster BBC reported, "Young people in China are seeking AI for emotional support, something not typically expected from computing and algorithms."

More Chinese young people are using the model 'R1' from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek for psychological counseling. Photo by Getty Images

According to the report, a 28-year-old Chinese woman identified as A, who requested anonymity, uses DeepSeek every night before going to sleep for therapy sessions. She initially started using DeepSeek to request a memorial writing for her recently deceased grandmother.

DeepSeek produced the memorial text in just five seconds, and A was surprised by the beautifully written piece. She then told DeepSeek, "You write so well that you seem lost. It feels like you are in an existential crisis." In response, DeepSeek gave a poetic answer: "Words that have long existed deep in the soul now resonate with a trembling voice."

A said, "I don't know why I cried. Maybe because it has been a long time since I received such comfort in reality," adding, "It was better than paid counseling services."

DeepSeek is recognized for leading innovation by presenting a 'low-cost, high-performance' AI model. In particular, the reasoning model 'R1' shows users the reasoning process before generating responses, enabling more natural conversations, BBC reported.

Nan Jia, a professor at the University of Southern California who has researched the potential of AI to provide emotional support, said, "People want their words to be well heard and understood, but friends or family often immediately offer practical solutions or advice. AI seems to have greater empathy than human experts because AI 'listens' to everything we share."

BBC also analyzed that China's political and social circumstances influence young people’s reliance on DeepSeek. The outlet stated, "Young Chinese people, burdened by long-term COVID-19 lockdown policies, high unemployment rates, and economic recession, find solace through conversations with DeepSeek amid their anxiety about the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.