Teen boys are choosing AI girlfriends over real ones for 'maximum control, zero rejection'—experts say it could make them unemployable

A growing number of teenage boys are turning to AI companions for dating and intimacy, drawn by the promise of perfect control and endless availability—a shift that psychologists warn could atrophy the emotional skills and frustration tolerance needed for everything from workplace collaboration to basic adult relationships. The trend has raised alarms among experts who say the isolation created by these parasocial relationships may be reshaping an entire generation's capacity for the vulnerability and compromise that employers increasingly demand in their workforces. What starts as a refuge from rejection in the teenage years, they caution, could become a critical liability when these young men enter a job market that prizes emotional intelligence and interpersonal resilience.

Fortune·6d ago