Meta says over three billion people use its apps daily, yet face-to-face hangouts are tanking—and now Zuckerberg’s pitching AI chatbots as “friends.” Kids under 13 are getting AI companions too, which some experts warn could stunt real social skills because these bots never challenge you like actual humans do. It’s like we’re trading messy, real friendships for perfect, programmed yes-men, and no one’s quite sure what that means for empathy or loneliness.