AI companion chatbots are increasingly popular with teens. While these interactions are entertaining, they also risk overuse that can potentially disrupt offline daily life. We examined how adolescents describe reliance on AI companions, mapping their experiences onto behavioral addiction frameworks and exploring pathways to disengagement, by analyzing 318 Reddit posts made by users who self-disclosed as 13-17 years old on the Character.AI subreddit. We found teens often begin using chatbots for support or creative play, but these activities can deepen into strong attachments marked by conflict, withdrawal, tolerance, relapse, and mood regulation. Reported consequences include sleep loss, academic decline, and strained real-world connections. Disengagement commonly arises when teens recognize harm, re-engage with offline life, or encounter restrictive platform changes. We highlight specific risks of character-based companion chatbots based on teens' perspectives and introduce a design framework (CARE) for guidance for safer systems and setting directions for future teen-centered research.

翻译：AI陪伴聊天机器人日益受到青少年欢迎。尽管这类互动具有娱乐性，但也存在过度使用风险，可能扰乱线下日常生活。本研究通过分析Character.AI子论坛中318篇由13-17岁用户自我披露的帖子，探讨了青少年如何描述对AI陪伴的依赖，将其经历映射至行为成瘾理论框架，并探索了脱离依赖的路径。研究发现，青少年最初常将聊天机器人用于情感支持或创意游戏，但这些活动可能逐渐演变为伴有冲突、戒断反应、耐受性、复发现象及情绪调节特征的强烈依恋。报告的不良后果包括睡眠不足、学业退步以及现实人际关系的紧张。脱离依赖通常发生在青少年意识到危害、重新投入线下生活或遭遇平台限制性更新时。本研究基于青少年视角揭示了角色化陪伴聊天机器人的特定风险，并提出面向安全系统的CARE设计框架，为未来以青少年为中心的研究指明方向。