“I didn’t consider my use excessive … But that’s what denial is for, isn’t it?”

“He had no idea that he was taking care of a future internet addict,” Quentin said.

Pizza, porn and getting high

“What I needed was a spiritual solution.”

‘AI is what you make it to be’

“I also noticed how it helped with my social skills — especially with wording, because the bots would take everything literally …”

The AI platform Belle used to speak to AI bots on. Source: Supplied

Using the chatbot platform, Belle was able to interact with AI bots programmed with ‘voices’ of fictional and historical figures, and celebrities. However, she soon found herself engaging in excess.

“And sometimes if you say certain wording, it can go down a really dark path.”

Zoey says that talking to AI bots has helped her expression and social skills. Source: SBS

Australia’s social media ban

Social media companies included in the ban will be required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent people under 16 from using their platforms. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to $49.5 million.

The 14-year-old has amassed her following by posting ‘get ready with me’ videos to her account, which her parents are logged into — monitoring her interactions with other users.

Zoey is a TikTok content creator and opposes the upcoming social media ban. Source: Supplied

Zoey doesn’t believe it is her age group that is most vulnerable to the risks of the internet.

“And then from younger people, I’ve never really gotten anything negative.”

Self-regulation technology use

“[Young people] don’t yet have the full capacity to understand the risks and regulate themselves in the way that’s needed to access these apps,” The University of Technology Sydney researcher and lecturer said.

“… Perhaps people might be more vulnerable because they’re more isolated or lonely, for example, and they’re using social media apps or AI bots to fill those kinds of needs.”

12 steps of recovery

Quentin says that by going through this program, she hasn’t gone on many of the sites she was “compulsively using” for four years.

Therapeutic approaches such as group and family therapy, medication for co-occurring disorders, mindfulness-based interventions (such as meditation and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy), and technology-based interventions (like internet blocking and filtering software) — and combined treatment plans — are some other methods used.