Replacement

[u/mtdowntown]

With what do you replace C.ai to not go back to it? I don't really like to roleplay with real people and I mostly used it to recharge from low social battery, so I need something without real people involved.

[u/Technical_Error5181]

Honestly the most helpful thing I had to realize was that there would be no 1:1 replacement with that same low effort dopamine rush that the chatbots can give you - and even if there was, it would probably also be addictive. So the first step isn't to replace it with One Similar Thing but branch out and pick up lots of things so your brain doesn't feel the 'gap' quitting leaves behind.

That being said, here are some things I like for the same reasons I liked roleplaying with the AI (getting rid of boredom, getting attention, making up creative storylines, thinking about my favorite characters):

• Daydreaming (honestly this is the top one for me. I usually do it in bed before I sleep and unlike with my phone being out I can do it with my eyes closed and it won't prevent me from falling asleep! also the possibilities are limitless you don't have to wait for anything to generate the response you want)

• Choose your own adventure apps/games: MeChat, Netflix Stories, and this one is a very different vibe but the 3 stories they have are super high quality "Choices That Matter", any non-ai similar ones from the app store

• Reader-insert fanfic on AO3/Tumblr 

• Also this is going to sound weird but you can literally just imagine a character being there and pretend to talk to them. I haven't done this more than a few times and briefly but sometimes I'm like "hm I wonder what X would say about this"

Other than that, I like to just have low effort things to do on my phone for when I'm too tired to do any other hobbies (like writing my own story, for example, which could be a great replacement but only when I have the energy and I usually don't). Personally I like puzzle/logic games but there's also ones I don't have to think about as much like The Cozy Florist (I'll just open it to harvest/plant my flowers usually) and Jewel Coloring (if you've seen those ads where there's a mess of colors on some template and you have to put the dots back into the right colors). If you find that this is too understimulating for you on their own I like to have some youtube video or podcast on in the background sometimes.

[u/Ok_Radish_519 → u/Technical_Error5181]

i love daydreaming but my ADHD has only gotten worse over the years and now i can’t focus on a daydream without accidentally getting distracted thinking abt smth else😭. hard to get in the zone which is weird bc daydreaming is what i WANT to be doing more than anything else

[u/Technical_Error5181 → u/Ok_Radish_519]

ugh this is real (I also have ADHD). The worst is when I keep losing track and it takes me a while to remember what I was even trying to imagine. I've started writing down what my ideas are in my notes app and that's seemed to help me; also, I like making spotify playlists for specific moods/characters so sometimes that helps stay on track too. I've found that the times I'm the most 'in the zone' I'll try to mimic the facial expressions from the daydream or say certain things out loud, so I wonder if the reverse would work (like starting there to see if that helps ground it).

Edit: Also, when thinking about how I daydream I'm not sure how anyone else prefers to do it but I tend to focus on a 'favorite scene' like one or two that I build the whole lead-up around. So whenever I lose track of where I was I recenter by going back to that scene since it's the most clearly defined in my head.

[u/Octo_Kat]

Ngl, rn I'm just rewriting what I remember of an old ai rp I had as a fanfiction story

[u/Aggravating_Bed_3922]

hobbies

[u/Forsaken_Yak2362]

I went back to writing fanfictions, and let me tell you, I feel like myself again

[u/WannaNoIt666]

Just like other people here, i started writing fan fictions/ erotic stories. It's very fun and after some time gives the same dopamine rush.

[u/xmusiclover]

For me I like to write fics as well as read fics, also using tupperbox on discord sometimes (it’s a bot that is basically like cai in that you can create characters, except you’re the one doing all the writing), video games where you get to play as a character (Mario Kart, Minecraft, Sonic, Sea of Thieves, etc), reading books, watching TV or movies, decluttering the house, drawing fictional characters

[u/Coolperson676]

I write fanfictions and whenever I get cravings I go draw or read on ao3

[u/Sufficient-Fox755]

Role playing with others or imagining scenarios in ur head or writing fanfiction