The Impact of Social Avoidance and Distress on Interpersonal Alienation: The Mediating Role of Social Robot Use

现代社会的流动性使得传统的人际关系式微，越来越多的人即使身处亲密关系中也依旧感到孤独与疏离。生成式人工智能带来了一种全新的交往模式，通过提供理想化的交友环境和搞笑的情绪价值使得用户能够暂时逃离现实社交。与此同时，虚拟社交对现实交往和现实人际关系的影响也成为学界关心的重要话题。本研究采用问卷调查法对600位社交机器人使用者进行施测，探析社交回避与苦恼对人际疏离感的影响以及社交机器人使用在两者之间所起到的中介作用。结果表明：1) 社交回避与苦恼正向预测人际疏离感；2) 社交机器人使用正向预测人际疏离感；3) 社交机器人使用在社交回避与苦恼和人际疏离感之间起中介作用。这些发现为研究人机交往提供一定的启示，同时也对社交逃避与苦恼加重人际疏离感这一现实后果起到警示作用。The mobility of modern society has led to the decline of traditional interpersonal relationships, with an increasing number of individuals experiencing loneliness and alienation even within intimate relationships. Generative artificial intelligence has introduced a novel interaction paradigm, enabling users to temporarily escape real-world social interactions by providing idealized companionship environments and humorous emotional value. Concurrently, the impact of virtual socialization on real-world interactions and relationships has emerged as a critical topic in academic research. This study employed a questionnaire-based survey of 600 social robot users to investigate the influence of social avoidance and distress on interpersonal alienation, as well as the mediating role of social robot use in this relationship. The results revealed that: 1) Social avoidance and distress positively predicted interpersonal alienation; 2) Social robot use positively predicted interpersonal alienation; 3) Social robot use mediated the relationship between social avoidance and distress and interpersonal alienation. These findings offer insights into human-AI interaction research and highlight cautionary implications for the exacerbation of interpersonal alienation through social avoidance and distress.