Concerns that more Australians are forming ‘personal connections’ with AI tools
As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into daily life, it appears a surprising new trend is emerging with some Australians starting to form personal connections with AI tools.
New research from the Real Relationships Report reveals that 1 in 3 (34%) Australians feel some “personal connection” with AI. This is particularly pronounced among younger generations, with around 2 in 5 Gen Z (40%) and Gen Y (42%) reporting a sense of connection.
The Real Insurance data shares that the phenomenon appears to be weaved into the challenges of modern digital relationships, where many younger Australians are grappling with aspects of social isolation despite constant digital connection. The very platforms designed for human connection are causing burnout, with nearly 3 in 4 (73%) Gen Z and over 1 in 2 (54%) Gen Y reporting occasional or frequent digital fatigue.
Another finding is that making new, genuine friends has become harder for 1 in 2 Australians surveyed.
Worse still, digital communication appears to have caused as much friction as it has attraction, with around 1 in 3 Australians having experienced a friendship breakup online that felt as emotionally significant as a romantic breakup.
Around 40% of individuals been ghosted by a friend, rising to over 54% among Gen Z and 59% among Gen Y. Younger Australians are far more likely to experience these intense friendship endings, with 3 in 10 (30%) Gen Z and nearly 1 in 4 (23%) Gen Y having gone through a friendship breakup in the past year alone – a rate significantly higher than Baby Boomers (11%).
So prominent is the concern of humans building relationships with artificial intelligence that the Cambridge Dictionary only last week named the term parasocial their word of the year, highlighting the dangers of individuals forming too close a bond to technologies they don’t know much about.
Says Hannah Zaslawski, an Australian digital creator who shares her life as a single woman in her 30s, “Don’t get me wrong, I keep myself busy with a million hobbies, but that doesn’t change the fact that, like [a lot] of Australians, I feel my friendship group shrinking and it’s getting harder and harder to connect, even though my phone tells me I pick it up an average of 116 times a day.”
The Real Relationships Report 2025 surveyed 1,204 Australians aged 18 and over. In sum, the report found a significant decline in close friendships, with more than half of respondents reporting fewer close friends and a growing difficulty forming new connections – both platonic and romantic.
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Who’s most likely to act up at the office Christmas party?
The office Christmas party is often an occasion to relax and unwind; and to get to know your work colleagues in a casual setting, away from deadlines, boardroom meetings, and boring presentations.
But throw alcohol into the mix and office Christmas parties can get messy. Indeed, booze can loosen up even the most ordinarily uptight folk, seeing them say things and do things they usually wouldn’t on the other 364 days of the year.
A study by PR firm Instaprint found that half the respondents surveyed admitted to having “hooked up” with a work colleague at their Christmas party and, surprisingly, 53% of these ended up in a relationship together a year later!
Of the 2000 participants in the study, nearly three quarters admitted to having gotten drunk at their work Christmas party (72%) while 16% said they had gotten “embarrassingly drunk”.
A humble five percent said they stuck to drinking waters on the night.
Of all departments in the workplace, the main people that cheeky behaviour came from were staff in Human Resources and IT.
Of all departments in the workplace, the main people that cheeky behaviour came from were staff in Human Resources and IT. A staggering 63% of people employed in these areas had kissed another colleague at a work Chrissy do, while an astonishing 56% confessed to having gone all the way with the sex thing.
According to a recent article in Business Insider, Gen Z (and to a lesser extent Millennials) are increasingly open to workplace romance. In one survey, younger workers (e.g., 18–34) are more likely to report having had a romantic relationship with a colleague.
But do take care and don’t treat sex as flippantly as you might once have treated it. In the current social and political climate, where sexual harassment is now being taken very seriously, things this year might just change. Or indeed, come the New Year, there may be a whole lot of new allegations coming to light. Not from Hollywood or the corridors of Washington, but from the office cubicle right next to yours.
It’s quite simple, really, just make sure you both consent.
Now go, go enjoy that glass of punch.
Lisa Andrews
#christmas #creamMagazine #lifestyle #officePolitics #popCulture
Thinking of wallpaper? An interesting article by the Victoria & Albert Museum.
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