When Loneliness Pays Off: The Economics of Loneliness in the Digital Age

Have you ever felt lonely? Or have you ever had that feeling of always being alone—and that something you see on your devices confirms that it’s better to be alone?...

As with everything, there’s a bigger picture, and, as always, there’s someone profiting from every social phenomenon. In this short article, we’ll discuss a socioeconomic theory that analyzes how contemporary neoliberalism profits from the fragmentation of social bonds, transforming individuals’ loneliness and isolation into a market opportunity to sell goods and services that serve as substitutes for social interaction.

We’re talking about the monetization of isolation and how all the tech giants and digital service platforms thrive by capturing the attention of isolated people through algorithmic addiction and consumption. Commercial substitutes—relationships, get-togethers with friends, or community life—are being replaced by paid products: on-demand services, streaming, dating apps, gaming platforms, and so on. All of them profit from the lack of real relationships.

Commercial substitutes: relationships and get-togethers with friends, or life in a community, are replaced by paid products—all kinds of home delivery services, streaming, dating apps, gaming platforms, and so on. All of these capitalize on the lack of real relationships.
Spatial fragmentation: Prominent figures, such as historian and economist Quinn Slobodian in his essay *The Capitalism of Fragmentation*, describe how capital seeks to reduce democratic and collective spaces in favor of fragmented (tax havens, gated communities, and independent districts) and deregulated micro-entities.

People’s loneliness is creating shortfalls in the welfare state and public spending, but no one talks about it because it’s better to exploit the situation for online consumerism, consolidating home delivery services and service apps, and establishing a deliberate business model that is always available and profitable.

Every day, human connections are repackaged as paid services to replace genuine relationships with people; we’re starting to turn to service apps or artificial intelligence substitutes for information, advice, diet plans, medical advice, sports, and everything imaginable—all so we don’t have to ask a real person.

The world of the future is providing us with so much that it completely replaces communication with an expert, an elderly person telling a story, or someone to have dinner with, putting relationships to the test every day, limiting their duration and depth, and catering to lonely and more consumerist people.

We see how, every day, places meant for socializing fail, remain empty, and are forgotten; maybe I’m just an eternal nostalgic, but now we know everything about everyone before we even meet them, and the worst part is that, because of this, more often than not we choose to stay home alone, ordering food delivery, staring at our phones and watching TV while we shop online.
Furthermore, dynamics will become increasingly complicated as couples use AI to discuss their problems and feelings—a very common phenomenon among the younger generation, who struggle to express themselves without the help of a device.

This has given rise to hyper-individualism—a neoliberal idea that the individual must be self-sufficient—thereby transforming loneliness into a personal responsibility rather than a systemic problem. This phenomenon is deeply entrenched and on the rise in Europe.

Official data from institutions show unprecedented social fragmentation: Perception of loneliness: According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC), 13% of the population feels lonely, while 35% feels lonely at least “sometimes.” Single-person households are on the rise: over 20.5% of the adult population in Europe lives alone.

The paradox is that it’s not the elderly, as one might think, but rather young people between the ages of 18 and 35 (about 57%) who are lonely or feel that way, making them the perfect target for platforms that profit from this.

Platforms offering dating, gaming, and food services are on the rise, and thepet industryis also growing, with many people choosing a pet to fill the void of loneliness.

This phenomenon also creates a sharp divide between singles who are financially secure and those who are unemployed and have lower incomes, leading to deep-seated problems: the poor are becoming increasingly lonely and poorer.

European governments are aware of the impact of this phenomenon; as the World Health Organization (WHO) points out, the costs of treating cardiovascular disease, depression, and dementia are rising, resulting in billions of euros in expenses.

For this reason, the United Kingdom has created a dedicated “Ministry of Loneliness” to try to stem the economic impact of social fragmentation and isolation. Contrary to what has long been believed, this phenomenon is also affecting countries in southern Europe among the 18–34 age group, driven by a lack of jobs in their hometowns, which is depopulating small villages and driving the workforce to large cities where they are not integrated but lead solitary working lives.

The use of alcohol, cigarettes, and psychiatric medications has also increased exponentially, driven by irregular use in isolation. Will governments ever be able to turn the situation around? Will the policies now being implemented to address loneliness be sufficient, or will this simply be a phenomenon that continues to grow unchecked and unchallenged?