en Educational Studies پژوهشي Original <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color:#669933;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="line-height:2;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span lang="EN">Objective: </span></b><span lang="EN">This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of high school students in Qazvin regarding their interaction with ChatGPT, with particular emphasis on the continuum from intelligent use to dependency.</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span lang="EN">Method: </span></b><span lang="EN">Adopting a qualitative approach, this research was conducted using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) based on the framework proposed by Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2022). Participants were purposively selected from upper secondary school students in Qazvin who had at least six months of experience using ChatGPT. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 18 students (9 girls and 9 boys) from different areas of the city. The interviews were analyzed following the six-step IPA procedure.</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span lang="EN">Findings: </span></b><span lang="EN">Data analysis resulted in the identification of six superordinate themes and 24 subordinate themes: (1) initial encounter and discovery of capabilities, (2) intelligent use and learning enhancement, (3) transition to dependency and cognitive weakening, (4) lived contradictions and meaning crisis, (5) contextual and moderating factors, and (6) coping and adaptation strategies. The highest frequency of references was related to &ldquo;lived contradictions and meaning crisis,&rdquo; followed by &ldquo;intelligent use&rdquo; and &ldquo;transition to dependency.&rdquo; The findings revealed that students&rsquo; experiences with ChatGPT were complex and paradoxical. While students benefited from its capabilities to support learning, they also faced cognitive challenges such as reduced independent thinking, metacognitive laziness, and an illusion of competence.</span></span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span new="" roman="" times=""><b><span lang="EN">Conclusion: </span></b><span lang="EN">Prohibitive approaches to AI in education are ineffective; instead, a balanced strategy is needed to maximize learning benefits, minimize negative effects, and guide students toward intelligent, responsible use.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> Lived Experience, ChatGPT, Intelligent Use, Cognitive Dependency, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, High School Students 0 0 http://ijer.hormozgan.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-551-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Faezeh Mohseni faezehmohseni@gmail.com 0009-0003-9612-7881 Yes MA in School Counseling, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Mohammad Nouri Alamuti mohammadnouri@ut.ac.ir 0009-0003-3730-8156 No PhD Student in Educational Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran