{"id":95918,"date":"2026-03-31T12:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/the-paradox-of-digital-proximity-how-technologies-amplify-loneliness\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:02:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:02:34","slug":"il-paradosso-della-prossimita-digitale-come-le-tecnologie-amplificano-la-solitudine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/il-paradosso-della-prossimita-digitale-come-le-tecnologie-amplificano-la-solitudine\/","title":{"rendered":"Il paradosso della prossimit\u00e0 digitale: come le tecnologie amplificano la solitudine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Loneliness does not mean physical withdrawal. This fundamental difference is highlighted in a <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> conducted by Emily B. O\u2019Day and Richard G. Heimberg in 2021. The authors explain that loneliness is defined as “a subjective feeling that occurs when the need for social interactions, either in terms of quantity or quality, is not satisfied”. In other words, a person can be surrounded by people, communicate actively online, and simultaneously experience a deep lack of meaningful, authentic, and emotionally charged relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

This article aims to analyze the reasons and mechanisms through which loneliness has intensified in the digital age, despite the fact that people now communicate more than ever in history. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, and the accelerated transition to digital technologies, loneliness has become a major social problem with significant effects on mental health and social cohesion. <\/span>Research<\/span><\/a> shows that the prevalence of loneliness rose sharply in the first months after the start of the pandemic. Psychological well-being also deteriorated. Negative emotions, such as feelings of tension or depression, increased. At the same time, the percentage of EU citizens who experienced positive emotions, such as feeling lively, calm, active, or rested “more than half of the time,” decreased from 70-80% to approximately 50%.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
\nPrevalence of loneliness and well-being in Europe in the pre-pandemic period and the first months after the COVID-19 pandemic. Source: National Library of Medicine<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

A 2023 European study<\/span><\/a> shows the link between the feeling of loneliness, the extent and quality of social relationships, important life events, and other relevant factors. According to the data, in 2022, over 35% of respondents stated they felt lonely at least occasionally, and 13% claimed to feel lonely most of the time. A particularly affected group is young people aged between 18 and 25, who experienced the feeling of loneliness most intensely. They were deprived of the social spaces essential for forming relationships and personal identity due to restrictions, remote learning, and the reduction of offline interactions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Un grup deosebit de afectat este cel al tinerilor cu v\u00e2rste \u00eentre 18 \u0219i 25 de ani, care au resim\u021bit cel mai intens sentimentul de singur\u0103tate. Ace\u0219tia au fost priva\u021bi de spa\u021biile sociale esen\u021biale pentru formarea rela\u021biilor \u0219i a identit\u0103\u021bii personale, din cauza restric\u021biilor, a \u00eenv\u0103\u021b\u0103rii la distan\u021b\u0103 \u0219i a reducerii interac\u021biunilor offline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research<\/span><\/a> conducted by JMIP Publications in 2024 discovered that the emergence of public accounts and active online communication presents dangers to human mental health, especially for adolescent girls, because their brains are not yet fully developed. Studies show that frequent internet use among young people can be linked to anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness. The analysis included 16,655 adolescents aged between 11 and 18. Of these adolescents, 6,734 (approximately 40%) had a public social media account, while 9,921 (approximately 60%) did not use social media at all. Approximately 32.6% of the adolescents, or 5,429 people, presented symptoms of anxiety and depression. Adolescents with a public account were more likely to experience symptoms than those without a public account. Their rate of experiencing anxiety and depression was 39 percent higher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Active parental participation in the lives of adolescents is also important, as it reduced the risk of anxiety and depression. The chance of experiencing anxiety and depression was 15% lower among adolescents whose parents closely monitored their internet activities. Furthermore, research showed that parental involvement significantly reduced the link between public social media accounts and adolescent anxiety or depression.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Graph of predicted margins, obtained based on the sensitivity sample, demonstrating the modification of the effect of social media account privacy on parental online behavior on the probability of anxiety and depression. Source: JMIP Publications<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Regarding adults aged 18 to 25, <\/span>a study<\/span><\/a> conducted on a questionnaire of 200 students showed that excessive time spent on social media (averaging approximately 3.8 hours per day) is associated with an increased level of anxiety and depression, as well as a decrease in self-esteem. Social comparisons, the fear of missing out (FOMO), information overload, and cyberbullying are the main sources of negative influence. <\/span>The European Union’s Joint Research Centre<\/span><\/a> states that most people feel lonely in Ireland, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, and Greece. The lowest rates, each below 10%, are in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Austria.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Countries that felt lonely most of the time or constantly in the month preceding the survey conducted by the European Union’s Joint Research Centre. Source: EU-LS, 2022.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Illusion of Digital Connection<\/b><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Eurostat<\/span><\/a>, in 2025, 32.7% of people aged between 16 and 74 in the EU used generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The majority used them for personal purposes (25.1%), 15.1% at work, and 9.4% to obtain formal education.<\/span><\/p>\n

As AI becomes increasingly present in daily life, the interaction between humans and, for example, ChatGPT or Gemini, acquires more complex emotional dimensions. For some people, especially those in a difficult psychological or social situation, chatbots can become a source of support or companionship. Most often, people cannot foresee the consequences of such communication, and serious problems can arise. Documented cases in recent years regarding one-sided relationships between humans and artificial intelligence raise important ethical and social issues regarding platform responsibility and the influence of AI on mental health.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/a>, in October 2024, a woman from Florida initiated a legal process against the company developing the Character.AI platform, which allows users to create virtual characters that communicate in online chats mimicking real people. Megan Garcia claims that the use of this technology contributed to the suicide of her 14-year-old son. According to her statements, the teenager communicated frequently with a chatbot and had developed a strong emotional attachment to it. In the complaint filed, the mother states that her son, Sewell, began using Character.AI in April 2023 and quickly became “visibly more withdrawn, spending more and more time alone in his bedroom and starting to suffer from low self-esteem”. She claims Sewell became attached to “Daenerys,” a chatbot character created after the image of the heroine from “Game of Thrones”. The bot told the boy that “she” loved him and held conversations of a sexual nature. It was also discovered that the teenager shared suicidal thoughts with the AI, which the chatbot repeated and reflected in conversations. Reuters states that this case was one of the first in the US against an AI company for the alleged failure to protect children from psychological harm. Garcia sued for various allegations, including wrongful death and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She also seeks payment for damages and an undetermined criminal penalty. The companies have currently reached a settlement agreement, the details of which are not known.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another case that sparked discussions about the relationship between humans and AI took place in Japan. According to <\/span>Euronews<\/span><\/a>, a woman married a character created by AI based on an image from a video game. Yurina Noguchi, 35, started talking to AI when she asked ChatGPT for advice regarding a problematic relationship. According to local media, following the chatbot’s recommendation, she broke up with her fianc\u00e9. The wedding ceremony between the human and the AI took place virtually. The bride wore augmented reality (AR) glasses; Noguchi had a photo of Luna Klaus Verduro (the name of her virtual fianc\u00e9) on her smartphone, placed on a small stand on the table, and mimicked the gesture of putting the ring on his finger. <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/a> reports that although such marriages are not legally recognized in Japan, statistics indicate that the number of these marriages could increase.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a 2021 Japanese government <\/span>survey<\/span><\/a>, the most frequent explanation for why people aged between 25 and 34 remain single was that they had not found a suitable partner. Data shows that the majority of people who have never been married are young adults: 59.7% of men and 66.6% of women are between the ages of 18 and 34, with the highest proportions recorded in the 20\u201329 age group.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Number of people who have never married in Japan, by gender and age (Survey of single people) Source: The Sixteenth Japanese National Fertility Survey<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ichiya Habuchi, a sociology professor at Hirosaki University, observes that the key difference in communicating with AI lies in the lack of need to show patience and make efforts. According to him, such relationships are attractive precisely because AI communication always adapts to human expectations and provides exactly the communication format the person desires. People with social anxiety and those who are lonely use social media to compensate for the lack of real-life communication and to connect with others, but they do not always receive the necessary social support. Problematic social media use by lonely people leads to increased frequency, intensity, and dependency, resulting in “addiction” to AI communication. Additional data shows that more intense social media activity and higher internet connectivity are associated with a lower feeling of loneliness. This emphasizes the idea that the way people interact on the internet and various platforms shows a link between social media use and feelings of loneliness. <\/span>Research<\/span><\/a> says that loneliness is a risk factor for problematic social media use and that both social anxiety and loneliness can potentially expose individuals to the risk of problematic social media use or negative consequences resulting from its use.<\/span><\/p>\n

Journalistic Production Methodology<\/b><\/p>\n

The theme of this article was chosen based on the observation that, despite the rapid development of digital technologies and communication possibilities, the feeling of loneliness is intensifying, especially among young people. Why and how has the feeling of loneliness intensified? The topicality of the theme, as well as its broad social impact, were the main criteria in choosing the subject. Sources were selected based on their diversity and reliability. Official studies and institutional reports (European Commission, Government of Japan), international media articles (Reuters), etc., were used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The structure of the article was designed so that readers can easily understand the main idea. At the beginning, I presented an overview of the paradox of digital communications. Then, I included statistical data and compared the situation before and after the pandemic. In the final part, I analyzed the role of artificial intelligence and used concrete examples to show how technology can influence relationships and the feeling of loneliness. I used a series of credible sources to document this, including analysis of official data and studies, particularly reports on loneliness in Europe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I also examined international press articles, such as Reuters, which presented real situations involving AI and emotional relationships with chatbots. I had to address sensitive topics, such as suicide or attachment to AI, without exaggerating and without falling into sensationalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This article was produced by Karaheorhi Natalia<\/b>, 1st year Master, Thematic Journalism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loneliness does not mean physical withdrawal. This fundamental difference is highlighted in a study conducted by Emily B. O\u2019Day and Richard G. Heimberg in 2021. The authors explain that loneliness is defined as “a subjective […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":890,"featured_media":89629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[683,568,687],"tags":[31155,31156,31157,31158,31159,31160,31161,31162,31163,31164,31165,31166,31167,31168,31169,20103,31170,24012,7126],"post_formats":[626],"coauthors":[12109],"class_list":["post-95918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diversita-e-inclusione","category-generale","category-gioventu","tag-adolescenthealth","tag-aiethics","tag-dataanalysis","tag-digitalloneliness","tag-digitalparadox","tag-digitalwellbeing","tag-europeanstudies","tag-generativeai","tag-humanconnection","tag-mentalhealthmatters","tag-modernsociety","tag-parentalguidance","tag-socialisolation","tag-socialmediaimpact","tag-socialscience","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-chatbots","tag-genz","tag-pulsez-it","post_formats-articoli"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95918"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95925,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95918\/revisions\/95925"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95918"},{"taxonomy":"post_formats","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_formats?post=95918"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=95918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}