Feeling lonely and cut off from others does not just sting emotionally. Loneliness changes our internal biology in ways that are linked to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even early death. A large study of more than 42,000 adults measured thousands of proteins in blood. The researchers mapped how loneliness and social isolation line up with immune system …
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Fabian Kamberi, CEO and co-founder of the Berlin-based AI gaming startup Born, thinks the current AI companions on the market are designed to be exploitative and geared toward isolating users through one-to-one relationships with AI chatbots. “It feels like it fuels the loneliness epidemic, instead of making it more fun and giving users the opportunity to make their lives better,” …
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Summary: A large-scale study with 600 participants shows that music can genuinely evoke feelings of companionship by sparking social imagination. When participants listened to folk music, they imagined vivid social scenes such as being with friends, even when lyrics were removed. Compared with silence, music consistently amplified mental imagery tied to warmth and connection. These results highlight music’s potential as …
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We’ve never been more connected, yet so many of us feel deeply alone. In a world filled with social media, video calls, and instant messages, loneliness is quietly becoming a major health crisis. A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals a shocking truth: loneliness is now linked to over 871,000 deaths every year. It’s not just about …
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In the most connected era in human history, people are dying of loneliness. Roughly 100 every hour, according to a grim new report from the World Health Organization. That’s more than 871,000 people per year. To put that into perspective: loneliness is outpacing some of our deadliest diseases and doing it while we’re all technically more “connected” than at any …
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