Why Your Teen Needs Real Friends: Relationship Skills Chatbots Can't Teach

More teenagers are turning to AI chatbots for friendship advice, family conflict, and even romantic conversations. But what happens when artificial relationships begin replacing real ones? In this episode of Facing the Dark, Wayne and Dr. Kathy explore why God designed adolescents to learn conflict, empathy, forgiveness, and resilience through real people, not perfectly agreeable machines. Together, they unpack why AI can never satisfy our deepest relational needs and how parents can prepare children to use technology wisely without sacrificing the relationships that shape character.