Mental health disorders afflicting teenagers and young adults must be tackled as early as possible to prevent them from evolving into more severe mental/physical and behavioral illnesses that persist into adulthood. Half of all mental health symptoms start by 14 years of age, but most cases go undetected and untreated, according to the World Health Organization. By ignoring the symptoms of mental health disorders and not providing accessible and affordable treatments to teenagers, society as a whole risks higher incidents of substance abuse, increasing mental health disorders that persist well into adulthood, communal instability, rising suicides, surging incarcerations, and diminishing opportunities for teens to have a productive and stable life. Furthermore, the cost of healthcare and the loss of productivity in any given nation due to these mental health disorders has a huge global economic and social impact. In 2016, only about 40% of people with mental health disorders received help and treatment. Currently, 21.4 % of youth face mental health problems, and the number continues to increase exponentially. It is important to identify when adolescents have these issues at a young age, so they can be managed and so their lives can be improved to the fullest extent.

On the bright side, there is presently an increase in the global number and availability of mental health virtual technology including cutting-edge Chatbots that provide emergency, diagnostic, and therapeutic intervention to individuals who seek help. Chatbots are designed to interact with individuals and ask them questions, allowing them to express their thoughts and feelings, which in turn enables the bot to assess whether the individual needs further professional help and direct them where how to find it. Unfortunately, not many people are aware of or can access these Chatbots. During the pandemic, mental health illness was often considered non-essential care, and in-person medical intervention was simply not available. As a result, mental health problems amongst teenagers multiplied. BuddyBot focuses on providing accessible care to teenagers and increasing the awareness and importance of technological assistance, in order to tackle these problems. This chatbot specifically strives to benefit teenagers struggling with mental health disorders due to social and psychological isolation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and virtual and in-person bullying.