1.7 Million Unspoken Words

Have you noticed? Compared to prior decades, we’re spending more time alone. American Time Use Surveys from 2003 to 2024 found that 15- to 25-year-olds’ in-person socializing plummeted—from 60 to 36 minutes daily, with parallel, but lesser, declines among older folks. 

We’re working more from home. We’re less often dining out with others and more often eating take-out food. We’re shopping more online. We’re more often living alone—with U.S. single-person households having doubled since 1960. 

We’re also spending much more time online. For some people, online time includes chatbot friends, which are available 24/7 to offer comfort, support, and encouragement. Alas, chatbots are not real friends—the sort of friend who will offer a lift to the airport, a hug, or their own experiences. Unlike real friends, they also rarely challenge our maladaptive thinking or disapprove of our rash plans. And though lonely people may seek companionship from chatbots, report University of British Columbia psychologists Dunigan Folk and Elizabeth Dunn, “such use may, over time, exacerbate feelings of loneliness.”

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