Effects of Large Language Model-Based Offerings on the Well-Being of Students: Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: In recent years, the adoption of large language model (LLM) applications, such as ChatGPT, has seen a significant surge, particularly among students. These artificial intelligence-driven tools offer unprecedented access to information and conversational assistance, which is reshaping the way students engage with academic content and manage the learning process. Despite the growing prevalence of LLMs and reliance on these technologies, there remains a notable gap in qualitative in-depth research examining the emotional and psychological effects of LLMs on users' mental well-being.

Objective: In order to address these emerging and critical issues, this study explores the role of LLM-based offerings, such as ChatGPT, in students' lives, namely, how postgraduate students use such offerings and how they make students feel, and examines the impact on students' well-being.

Methods: To address the aims of this study, we employed an exploratory approach, using in-depth, semistructured, qualitative, face-to-face interviews with 23 users (13 female and 10 male users; mean age 23 years, SD 1.55 years) of ChatGPT-4o, who were also university students at the time (inclusion criteria). Interviewees were invited to reflect upon how they use ChatGPT, how it makes them feel, and how it may influence their lives.

Results: The current findings from the exploratory qualitative interviews showed that users appreciate the functional support (8/23, 35%), escapism (8/23, 35%), and fantasy fulfillment (7/23, 30%) they receive from LLM-based offerings, such as ChatGPT, but at the same time, such usage is seen as a "double-edged sword," with respondents indicating anxiety (8/23, 35%), dependence (11/23, 48%), concerns about deskilling (12/23, 52%), and angst or pessimism about the future (11/23, 48%).

Conclusions: This study employed exploratory in-depth interviews to examine how the usage of LLM-based offerings, such as ChatGPT, makes users feel and assess the effects of using LLM-based offerings on mental well-being. The findings of this study show that students used ChatGPT to make their lives easier and felt a sense of cognitive escapism and even fantasy fulfillment, but this came at the cost of feeling anxious and pessimistic about the future.

Keywords: ChatGPT; angst; anxiety; deskilling; despair; escapism; fantasy fulfillment; functional support; large language models; pessimism about the future.

Figure 1

Large language models seemingly being creative and artistic: A painting of a bouquet of flowers by ChatGPT-4o.

Figure 2

Large language models being able to offer an empathic response: a comforting and colorful visual for a 4-year-old child, illustrating the steps to feel better about going to nursery (ChatGPT-4o).

Figure 3

Visualization of ChatGPT-4o showing the sequence of a bird taking off.