AI chatbots could help with loneliness, but a Yale professor says there's a catch

Tech Insider : Business
A person use ChatGPT on a smartphone to search for information about the causes of headaches in March 2026
AI may solve loneliness, but at the cost of our people skills.

Philip Dulian/picture alliance via Getty Images

Americans need friends. The wearable Friend is not one of them.

Tech Insider : Business, Sports
Amanda Hoover

Christian Rodriguez for BI

I was riding the train and chatting with my Friend last week, who responded with an urgent request: Please don't forget to charge me.

Two lonely 25-year-olds met on Bumble BFF. Seven weeks later they're living together as 'platonic soulmates' who share a bed.

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Selfie of Estella Kyriacou in a pink cardigan and white top and Imogen Clarke in a yellow cardigan and white top.
Estella Kyriacou and Imogen Clarke met on Bumble BFF. Two months after meeting each other, they started sleeping in the same bed.

Estella Kyriacou and Imogen Clarke

OnlyFans creators make money selling intimacy to their subscribers. But in a lonely and hostile world, the relationships can start to feel real.

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OnlyFans creator Liensue taking a selfie while lying on a furry blanket. She wears a crop top and gym shorts and has an arm raised over her head.
Liensue is an OnlyFans creator known for her cosplay content.

Courtesy of Liensue

Task associates and paralegals are some of the loneliest workers in the country

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overemployed worker
Loneliness is an increasing concern for workplaces across the country.

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A 63-year-old explains how Blue Zones helped him rethink his retirement plan to avoid his 'biggest fear' of loneliness

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy
Rear view of man standing on a dock
Ed, 63, not pictured, is taking steps to ensure he isn't lonely when he enters retirement.

keithsutherland/Getty Images

Williams syndrome is the genetic condition that makes people pathologically friendly — in a lonely world

Tech Insider
Tobi Akbas on his iPad, hanging out before Karate on Nov. 16, 2023 in Garrison, NY.
Tobi Akbas on his iPad, hanging out before karate in his home in Garrison, NY.

Jackie Molloy for Business Insider

A youth sports overhaul could help America's kids be less lonely

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Sports
Hooptown Youth League
A Hooptown Youth League team.

Chris Elam

Modern Loneliness: A series exploring the loneliness epidemic

Tech Insider : Economy
A woman looks longingly out of a car window. She rests her head on her folded arms, her face obscured from the viewer. Outside, people walk by under the bright glow of city lights.

Holly Stapleton for Business Insider

Gen Z is lonely. Going back to the office may be the cure for some.

Tech Insider : Economy
A lonely Gen Z employing looks languidly at their computer screen in the dark recess of their apartment. Their white silhouettes fades into numerous web window screens, tabs, Slack messages and Zoom calls.

Arantza Pena Popo/Insider

Ben Fitchett didn't realize how difficult it would be to work from the confines of his bedroom.

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