The Polybuzz Habit: When Multiple AI Conversations Compete for Your Attention | AI Addiction Podcast #4

Listen: Episode 4 on Spotify, or find the AI Addiction Podcast on Spotify. Spotify lists this episode as “PolyBuzz AI Addiction | AI Addiction Podcast #4”.

Episode 4 of the AI Addiction Podcast is about running many AI conversations at once. Think ChatGPT, Claude, Character.AI and Replika, all open, all getting your attention.

The title uses “Polybuzz” as a label for this habit. To be clear, PolyBuzz is a specific companion app, and its terms of use set the minimum age at 18. “Multi-AI addiction” is our informal name for the pattern, not a diagnosis. Nobody has measured how common it is.

What the episode covers:

• Why constant switching between chats feels tiring. Research on task switching, summarized by the American Psychological Association, finds that each switch costs a little time and attention, and the costs add up when you switch often.
• Five informal patterns we talk through: preferring AI to people across several apps, craving constant stimulation, handing off most of your thinking to different assistants, using several companions to manage mood, and mixing up which bot said what. These are discussion prompts, not clinical categories.
• Using AI tools one at a time and on purpose, instead of keeping every conversation open.

A note from us: if this sounds like you, it is not a personal failing. These products are built to hold attention. That does not mean your brain is damaged, and we have no evidence that it is. If it is costing you sleep, work or relationships, talking to a doctor or counselor is a reasonable step. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry gives the same advice for young people in its guide to AI chatbots.

Want a quick read on your own habits? The free assessment asks 20 questions about your overall AI use and sends the result by email. It is a self-reflection tool, not a diagnosis.

In crisis? Call or text 988, or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line).