SHANE​ WARREN

Generative AI has drifted, quietly but decisively, into the mental health ecosystem. It is no longer a hypothetical adjunct. It is a lived behaviour. Population studies now show that a meaningful proportion of adolescents and young adults use AI chatbots for mental health advice, often monthly, and most report that the advice “helps.” Professional bodies are sufficiently concerned that formal advisories now warn the public about safety, evidence gaps, and the risk of harm, pa

I’ve been noticing something lately, and I’m trying to name it without turning into the cranky guy yelling at clouds. It’s this… vibe. A kind of social theatre that plays out in comment sections, on talkback, at family dinners, in workplace kitchens. The place where someone says, “I’m just asking questions,” but it doesn’t feel like a question. It feels like a door gently closing.

There’s a name for this weird little void we tumble into every year, that space between Christmas and New Year’s Eve when time stops making sense, calories stop counting, and the line between “afternoon nap” and “existential crisis” gets deliciously blurry. It’s called Gooch Week.