The popularity of a new auto-chat app with Chinese students has sparked a debate about social skills under China's one-child policy and the craze for online networking tools.

The "little yellow chick" app has attracted more than 2.2 million followers since it was launched in December on Renren, a social networking site.

Interface of the "little yellow chick" app

Anyone can post a message to which the "chick" will respond. Although the replies are generated by sophisticated software rather than human direction, young people have been amused by its humorous and frequently surprising answers.

It has become the perfect conversation partner for many youngsters. It knows about Lady Gaga and can tell a boy to go get his love if he has a crush on a girl. It often humors its human partner by telling them they are the best-looking guy or girl in the world.

"We don't have to worry about bothering others when talking with this chick," said Chang Yue, a university freshman.

It also gives young people a channel to vent their complaints about study pressure, emotional problems and their opinions about social events.

Web users even asked it for solutions to Beijing's worsening air quality when China's capital city choked in dense smog in January.

"The app has catered to the need of youngsters to communicate with people and feel emotionally connected," said Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociology professor with the Renmin University of China.

Under China's family-planning policy, most Chinese families only have one child, and Zhou believes this feeds into the success of the little yellow chick.

"The only child in a family lacks emotional communication when they grow up, which makes them more prone to be technology dependent," the academic said.

But some also worry about what such apps say about people's alienation from conventional society.

"Not just people's loneliness in the real world, but also their lack of trust in society, has contributed to the success of the auto-reply app," said "ccllong" on Weibo.

The chick is not the first technology of its kind to draw attention. "Xiaotu," a robot-like auto-reply app on the website of Tsinghua University's library, went viral last year after users found it cute and cunning.

Like "Xiaotu," the chick has the ability to learn. It understands the latest news events, hot words, and even dirty jokes, which it learns from online followers.

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