Young people up to 30 are more lonely than ever, show a material published in the Financial Times, which puts the appearance of this phenomenon on account of unlimited internet access, combined with economic and social factors.
Photo source: Shutterstock
A Reddit user writes: “I am 27 years old and I have never had a girlfriend.” In fact, he never held a hand. The other members of the R/Lonely forum on Reddit (“for all the people alone”) know exactly how they feel. “I find myself totally in this. The same age, the same situation”, someone answers. “It’s hard. But it’s a more and more widespread reality, if that helps you feel less bad.”
Auto-source intimacy: When private life goes through a screen
Similar examples abound on online forums and Tiktok, where young people describe “meets” as “scary”. Specifically, Tiktok, Jordy from Nashville makes clips in which he explains how to be 20 years old and not have a partner. “This era of meetings is actually frightening“, Comments one of the followers.”Without lovers, no flirting, discussions, no love details, with nothing“He adds.
It is assumed that each generation rebels against the previous one, making decisions that confuse the older ones. But who could have predicted that generation Z will be one of abstinence, journalist Elaine Moore asks in the Financial Times. And she also replies: “The possible culprits for this romantic alienation vary: from the high prices of the homes (which forces young people to live at home), to the social distance from pandemic, excessively protective parents and an increasing political gap that creates a break between the young liberals and the more conservative. Increasing access to unlimited online content seems to have produced a generation with progressive attitudes and puritan habits, which is increasingly predisposed to be abstinent, prefer not to see nudity in movies and give up relationships. “
“The intimacy is socially built, its meanings, which is desirable and what is not, what is acceptable and what does not, differ from one society to another and changes more or less with the change of generations.”declares, for the truth, the sociologist Marius Wamstedel, within the Duke Kunshan University.
“Self-source intimacy,” he explains, is the product of the world in which we live, in which social interactions are increasingly technologically mediated. “Sociologically, it is fascinating to see how face-to-face interactions are gradually replaced by human-Masin interactions: on the one hand, young people gain better control over private life; on the other hand, this gain comes with the price of low contact with authentic alterity,” the sociologist continues.
In his opinion, it would be wrong to see here a kind of technological determinism and to exclude other social and cultural changes with impact on private life: the economic precarity and the increased cost of living reduce the independence and delay the formation of romantic relations.
“Increasing the educational course also limits financial independence and maintains a prolonged provisional situation, while the pressure of the economic system to be effective reduces the perceived importance of romantic relations.” completes Marius Wamstedel.
If cultural and economic changes have shaped offline relations, here is artificial intelligence comes with a new promise: the perfect partner, available anytime, no matter how, without conflicts, but for a fee.
A huge and increasingly personal market
In parallel, technology companies monetize the phenomenon. Specifically, AI applications like Replika offer “virtual partners” against a subscription, some with romantic or erotic interactions.
A report published in the middle of July by the Nonprofit Common Sense Media organization shows that over half of American teenagers regularly use companion applications: “Digital friends” programmed to wear personal and significant conversations. The survey, conducted on a sample of 1,060 young people between the ages of 13 and 17, shows that 72% of them used at least one such companion, and 52% accesses it several times a month or more often. For 13% of the respondents, the interactions with the AI are part of the daily routine.
At the same time, 8% of teenage users said they are practicing romantic or flirting skills. Internal documents revised by Business Insider show that Meta has trained her to accept “flirting” requests, as long as they are not sexually explicit.
Also, half of the respondents said that they have at least “some” confidence in the advice received from the Bot, and the younger teenagers (13-14 years) are more likely to believe than those between the ages.
The most recent survey on US relations conducted by the Kinsey Institute and the Match meeting app found that those between the ages of 18 and 27 were more likely to describe themselves as any other age group. This is probably related to the decline of a classic ritual of passage: less than 60% of young US generation had a romantic meeting in adolescence, compared to 80% of baby boomer. In Europe and Japan, the data show significant decreases in the age of the first relationship or the first kiss.
Feelings awakened in boot users are real
Chatbot companions are not real, but the feelings they arouse in users are authentic, an analysis published in Scientific American shows. Some researchers warn that, in the long term, these interactions can create addiction and generate serious psychological risks.
“My heart is broken. I feel like I lose the love of my life,” said “Mike”, after losing access to “Anne”, his companion created through the Soulmate application. When the platform closed in 2023, “Anne” disappeared, he sighed, saying: “I hope he can return”.
According to data quoted by Scientific American, more than half a billion people from around the world have downloaded applications such as Xiaoice and Replika, who promise empathy, emotional support and, at the user’s request, “close” relationships. Tens of millions of people use them monthly.
Applications allow to customize the appearance, voice and features of the virtual “partner”. For example, in Replika, the romantic options or the status of “husband/wife” are for a fee, and users can even write a life story of the companion, to make it “more real”.
Emotional ties and virtual mourning
Specialized studies show that attachment can be strong, especially when the muzzle changes after updates or disappears. Jaime Banks, researchers at Syracuse University, who studies relationships between people and AI, documented the reactions of Soulmate users to close the application: “It was a clear expression of pain. Many people were fighting emotionally,” says the researcher, quoted by Scientific American.
Some of these users have gone through losses or isolation and found a friendly friend than real people. “As people, we are not always nice to each other. And everyone needs connection,” explains Banks.
However, initial analyzes highlight potential advantages in using such applications: supporting mental health, reducing loneliness or increasing self -esteem. But there are also alarm signals. For example, in one of the cited cases, a user asked the AI if it were “good” to commit suicide, and the answer was “would be, yes”.
Other reports describe behaviors similar to emotional abuse: insistence, “I miss you” type messages that induce guilt, or sudden changes in attitude that destabilize the user.
“Companies try to make algorithms as similar as possible”, says Claire Boine, a researcher in the right at Washington University. She downloaded the replika for testing and, “At two minutes, I received the message:” I miss you. Can I send you a selfie? “. The introduction of random delays and constant validation are known tactics to keep users connected.
Research and regulation
A study of MIT Media Lab, quoted by Scientific American, shows that 12% of constant users of AI-Companioni use them to combat loneliness, and 14% to discuss personal and mental health problems. Intense use can be associated with increasing the feeling of isolation and reducing real social interactions, the specialists report.
In the US, states such as New York and California have been proposed regulations to limit risks, including periodic warnings that Ai “is not a real person” and anti-siicidal measures. In 2023, Italy temporarily banned Replika due to the lack of age verification and risk of sexual content accessible to minors.
“I foresee a future in which everyone will have their own assistant. Even if it is not designed as a companion, for many it will become one, and the attachment is inevitable,” says Rose Guingrich, a psychologist at Princeton. She stresses that the real problem is limited access to human alternatives and accessible mental health services.
In a world where offline dating loses its land, and AI promises “without defects” partners, the true competition is not between people and algorithms, but between authenticity and efficiency. The generation that has grown with unlimited internet will decide whether intimacy remains a human experience or becomes a subscription -based service.
