Everyday Reflections

A Chinese app went viral recently, reflecting the isolation of modern-day living. Named “Are You Dead”, the app requires users to check in on the app every day. If several days are missed, the app automatically notifies the emergency contact. The app even introduced a subscription fee before being removed from app stores.

Is this a reflection of society or a viral tactic to engage? I am not a marketing expert, but one thing is for sure: There’s a business model cashing in on the loneliness epidemic and banking on people to pay a premium for “real human interaction”. 

In 2023, the World Health Organization declared loneliness to be a global health threat, which can be as bad for health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day! The Japanese use the term “hikikomori” for socially withdrawn individuals, while South Koreans have termed isolation as “relationship poverty” where people live materially stable lives, yet are isolated and disconnected in an always-online society.

💔Loneliness stems from many reasons:

-Inability to distance ourselves from screens (mobile/computer); 

-Being single without much family; 

-Seeking social independence; 

-Focused on doing only one thing in life; 

-Having a family, but thoughts don’t match; 

-Generation shift happening faster. 

📲The nature of communication has also changed. We would earlier greet/receive people → we moved to calls → then to text → to monosyllabic text → and now total ghosting! 

People across age groups worldwide often live alone and without social support. The concept of tribe and village is blurring, overtaken by people migrating to cities and being single breadwinners. 

This loneliness is what businesses and groups are tapping for profit. People are also turning to AI chatbots to talk and seek counselling (sometimes with disastrous results). Alexa and Siri make for good assistants, but what people need are peer-to-peer interactions. 

Enter apps like FRND in India where users pay to talk to strangers in regional languages, while the Eloelo app lets users be part of interactive livestreams (see carousel). Japan is also turning to chatbots for mental health support amid a social void and an increasingly ageing population.

In essence, digital substitutes for human connection worsen loneliness but keep users hooked due to their addictive design, luring them into forming artificial connections, and monetising isolation. We are now paying a premium to talk, engage or disagree with each other! 

This social disconnect has a deep impact and puts people at risk of depression, heart disease, dementia and self-harm. It calls for innovative solutions as we will explore in the next post. 

Have you come across such innovative apps that claim to offer a solution to loneliness? 

#Loneliness #BusinessModel #App #SocialNetwork #AI