Key points

Loneliness is now a fast-growing industry.

AI friends, therapy apps, and "rent-a-friend" services fill an emotional gap.

True connection can't be bought. True connection must be rebuilt, face to face.

In 2025, Japan made global headlines for approving the use of robot companions to help its rapidly aging population. It was a technological answer to a very human crisis known locally as kodokushi , or “lonely deaths.” The Japanese aren't the only people to address this challenge. In 2018, the United Kingdom appointed Tracey Crouch as the world’s first “Minister for Loneliness ,” following a government report that revealed the growing prevalence of isolation. And in the U.S.? A surprising number of Gen Zers now say their closest confidants aren’t people at all, they’re apps

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