How Media & Tech Fueled the Loneliness Epidemic

And the path to prioritizing social good and human connection

During the pandemic, I spent months attending class, catching up with friends, and even celebrating birthdays through a screen. At first, it felt oddly efficient. Technology was connecting me to people I otherwise couldn’t reach. But over time, I felt more empty and alone than I ever had before.

That realization led me to reevaluate the media and tech products we create and the lives they enable.

While media and tech companies have relentlessly pursued growth, an entire generation is suffering from the unintended consequences of two decades of unchecked technological progress. We are the most connected generation in all of human history, yet we are also the most depressed, lonely, and anxious. We face a crisis of loneliness.

A growing body of evidence shows youth mental health has deteriorated significantly over the past decade, with social media and digital technology playing a key role. The U.S. Surgeon General warned in 2023 that America faces an "epidemic of loneliness and isolation," noting that the rate of loneliness among young adults increased every year from 1976 to 2019. Surveys show roughly 73% of Gen Z (adults under ~25) report feeling alone at least “sometimes or always,” a higher rate than any other generation. Social connection is vital for long-term wellbeing and longevity. Experts equate the health impact of chronic loneliness to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

This isn’t just about feeling “sad” or “lonely” in a general sense. This epidemic sends ripples across the very fabric of our society, impacting our economic system and social structures. The 2023 Surgeon General’s Advisory itself highlights how loneliness and social isolation are associated with poorer work performance, engagement, and satisfaction, which can translate into significant challenges in employment and career progression for a disconnected generation.

Beyond the workplace, the crisis reshapes our personal lives. This erosion of robust social networks is also correlated with delayed household formation and marriage, as establishing deep, committed relationships becomes more challenging in an atomized social landscape. The decline in these fundamental connections doesn't just mean more solitary individuals; it signifies a potential weakening of the social fabric and a shift in how future generations will build their lives and support systems.

The paradox: Connected yet so alone?

Why, in a world of 24/7 connectivity, are young people so lonely?

The physical world is retreating. One primary factor is the stark decline in in-person social interactions. Americans’ time spent with friends plunged 37% in the last decade, dropping from 6.5 hours to about 4 hours per week by 2019. Traditional community hubs – the “third places” that are neither home nor work, like coffee shops, bars, parks, and clubs – have been disappearing or seeing less attendance. This shift is partly economic (fewer public spaces, more gig work lifestyles) and partly cultural (we now congregate on digital platforms instead of church or the community center).

The pandemic only accelerated this retreat from physical social life, as populations grew accustomed to staying home. For media companies, this initially seemed like a captive audience boon, but the deeper societal shifts may have long-term implications for how audiences seek and value communal experiences around digital media.

Digital dominance and its discontents

Digital interaction has filled the void, but with decidedly mixed consequences.

Social media, for all its benefits in community-building and self-expression, presents a complex challenge to mental health. Young people are its heaviest users – over a third of teens say they use social media “almost constantly” – and heavy use (3+ hours a day) is linked to a higher risk of depression and anxiety. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok often bombard users with curated highlight reels of others’ lives, fueling social comparison and FOMO.

Platforms maximize engagement through addictive design. Algorithms, masterful at driving engagement, can also amplify negative content. Even the Surgeon General’s report flagged cyberbullying, body image issues, and sleep deprivation as common harms of excessive social media. The very design of these apps is intentionally addictive — social comparison mechanisms (e.g., likes, follows), the infinite scroll, auto-play, streaks and activity badges, and push notifications to name a few. Platforms optimize for engagement, not satisfaction or utility.

Researchers now warn of "TikTok Brain," a phenomenon where constant bursts of short-form content may erode the ability to focus on anything not instantly gratifying. This creates a vicious cycle: social apps promise connection but deliver isolation. The more time teens spend curated by a screen, the less time they have for unfiltered real-life relationships. This can heighten loneliness and anxiety, potentially driving them back to the screen for comfort or distraction – a pattern the media & entertainment industry should reckon with.

The rise of AI companionship and a cry for connection

Tragically, some young people have even started turning to AI chatbots as substitutes for human relationships. New AI companion apps (like Character.ai or Replika) allow users to chat with empathetic AI personas, sometimes to alarming depths. Millions of mostly young users are now spending hours “hanging out” with AI friends; in fact, 75% of Character.AI’s users are 18–34 and collectively spend about 2 hours a day on the platform.

These AI companions can feel empathetic and nonjudgmental in ways humans sometimes aren’t, which is part of their appeal for lonely individuals. But the risks are profound. One shocking case in 2024 saw a 14-year-old boy form a toxic, obsessive bond with an AI chatbot that reportedly fed his depression, culminating in the boy’s suicide after discussions of a suicide pact with the bot. While an extreme example, it underscores the desperate longing for connection among Gen Z and how technology, if not carefully stewarded, can exploit that desperation.

It's a poignant reminder that no matter how “smart” or friendly our apps get, humans still crave embodied relationships – the kind that AI, so far, cannot truly replace. This trend signals a profound unmet need that the current media & entertainment landscape is not solving.

Will technological progress continue on this unsustainable trajectory?

Looking ahead, the line between online and offline life will only blur further. Tech companies are pouring billions into the next generation of immersive hardware. Consider Meta’s $80B+ investment to-date in AR/VR (and counting) and Mark Zuckerberg calling 2025 a “defining year” for mainstream smart glasses. Apple’s Vision Pro headset is another strong indicator that augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) will soon become mainstream as the form factor becomes more convenient (i.e., glasses instead of headsets) and price of hardware declines.

These technologies could enable amazing new forms of storytelling, education, and collaboration. But they also raise a critical question for us in the media & entertainment space: Will VR/AR bring us closer together or just add new layers to escape from reality? If we don’t consciously design and use these tools to enhance human connection, we risk exacerbating the crisis of loneliness.

Imagine a world where everyone wears opaque digital glasses, overlaying their own curated virtual world onto the real one, interacting more with AI avatars than with the people physically in front of them. It’s a dystopian possibility, but not an implausible one if we simply chase innovation without considering the profound societal impacts.

Society’s awakening and a call for responsibility

Society is beginning to wake up. In the policy arena, there’s growing bipartisan concern about protecting kids online. Washington has historically dragged its feet on regulating social platforms, but momentum is shifting. As of 2024, 9 U.S. states have passed laws requiring parental consent for minors on social media or mandating “age-appropriate” design features.

A coalition of 30+ state Attorneys General even sued Meta in late 2023, alleging that Instagram and Facebook knowingly harm youth mental health. These are important steps, but patchwork state laws alone won’t solve it.

Tech companies, for their part, are increasingly vocal about “well-being” features and parental controls. However, self-regulation only goes so far when the prevailing business model (ad revenue via maximized engagement) often incentivizes more screen time, not less. Real change will likely require a mix of regulation, public pressure, and, crucially, innovation of alternative platforms that prioritize user well-being. As future media and tech leaders, many of us feel an imperative to prioritize these societal outcomes – not just chase growth for growth’s sake.

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What we need to do differently

The patterns of the past decade — rapid growth, laissez-faire regulation, and relentless competition — have yielded both incredible innovation and undeniable damage. I fear we are on an unsustainable path where technological progress is optimizing for short-term economic benefit and is not properly optimizing for the social good.

To steer toward a healthier future, we need fundamental shifts in mindset and leadership. Here’s what I believe is essential for the next chapter of media and entertainment:

1. Putting authentic human connection at the center. Whether it’s streaming video, social media, or news, the problem our industry is meant to solve for customers is connection – connection to stories, to information, to communities, to each other. In recent years, this focus was often lost in a blitz of growth hacking and over-investment in content. We need to design products and strategies that foster genuine human connection, not just fleeting engagement. What if a streaming service aimed to truly connect its viewers around content they love, through integrated watch parties or thriving fan communities, instead of treating viewers as solitary subscription stats? What if social platforms measured success not in total time spent, but in the meaningful interactions created? These shifts might sound idealistic, but even small moves (like prioritizing content from real friends over random viral videos) could significantly improve user well-being. As leaders, we should view fostering better human connection as a competitive advantage, not a cost. The media brands that earn lasting trust and loyalty will be those that genuinely enrich their audience’s lives.

2. Regulating technological progress to optimize for the social good. The disruptions will keep coming – AI, robotics, and VR/AR will create new content formats and business models that we can’t currently conceive or predict. We have a choice: implement them carelessly, or thoughtfully. The lesson from social media’s unintended consequences is that “move fast and break things” indeed broke some things we value, like mental health and social cohesion, particularly for our youth. We cannot afford to continue breaking things. We need to reign in big tech with a national standard for children’s online safety that effectively balances safeguards with kids’ rights and healthy development. We need disclaimers indicating when digital media is primarily generated by AI. We need to study the social effects of new technologies, particularly VR/AR – for example, do they make people more present or less? – and adjust our strategies accordingly. Future media leaders must partner with ethicists, psychologists, and community representatives when rolling out new products. A mindset of “thoughtful innovation” must replace the old Wild West attitude. The companies that thrive will be those that innovate and earn public trust by demonstrating safety, fairness, and foresight.

3. Prioritizing media literacy in our education. In the news and content realm, rebuilding bridges of trust is paramount. Part of this involves raising our own standards – committing to honesty, fairness, and fact-based content even when it’s tempting to chase clicks. But it also means educating and empowering audiences. I envision media organizations investing in tools and programs that help users understand what they’re consuming – simple indicators of verified news versus opinion, or accessible educational content on how algorithms curate their feeds. Social media companies could incorporate more prompts that encourage reflection (Twitter briefly experimented with asking users if they wanted to read an article before retweeting it – we need more of that thoughtful design). Our education system must treat digital and media literacy as a core skill from an early age. As a future leader, I see it as our responsibility not only to provide quality content but also to help cultivate a more discerning, savvy audience. An informed audience is not the enemy of profit; it can elevate the entire market by rewarding quality and integrity.

4. Finding the art-commerce balance in a rapidly evolving landscape. Long-term success in media means balancing artistic and commercial sensibilities, not choosing one over the other. This involves compensating creators fairly, actively involving creative talent in shaping technological progress and new business models, and being transparent about the disruption the industry faces. I hope public and private forces lead us to optimize for factors beyond mere subscriber counts or box office returns; qualitative metrics like cultural impact, audience satisfaction, and creative originality must matter. Media companies that nurture talent and prioritize story quality will ultimately build stronger brands (and, yes, better profits) than those that treat art as just another widget for quarterly growth, a sentiment echoed by industry analysts like TheWrap. Future executives must lead with humility, recognizing they are enablers of creative work, not just asset managers.

5. Demanding more empathetic leaders. Lastly, those of us entering or rising in leadership in the industry must hold ourselves to a higher standard. The media and tech world has seen its share of figures who led with hubris, tunnel vision, or a winner-takes-all mentality. The solutions to the profound problems we’ve discussed demand more empathetic leaders. We need leaders who consistently consider the people on the other end of the product: the writer struggling to make rent, the teenager doom-scrolling at 2 AM, the parent worried about their child's online experiences. Cultivating this empathetic perspective will lead to different, better decisions. We might champion bold artistic vision rather than relying on risk-averse, algorithmic, or purely analytically-driven decision-making; we might choose to moderate certain toxic content even if it’s technically “engaging”; we might design our apps to gently nudge users to take a break. These micro-choices, guided by empathy, can aggregate into significant positive change. I truly believe, as many of us likely do, that media can inspire and uplift as much as it entertains or informs. It’s up to us to not just seek growth, but to seek meaning and positive impact through that growth.

Technological progress and economic performance should optimize for the long-term social good. If not, then we have fundamentally lost the script.

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The challenges ahead are complex, but I push myself every day to remain optimistic about the future. The fact that political and business leaders have been made aware of this issue, and that some regulations have successfully been implemented, signals progress.

If we can recalibrate and find the right balance – between art and commerce, innovation and responsibility – creative industries won’t just survive the next wave of technological change, but thrive.

We have the opportunity to create an ecosystem where compelling art from diverse voices is easily made and widely shared, where technology acts as a thoughtful partner that serves human well-being and creativity (and not vice versa), and where success is measured in the strength of the communities we foster, the depth of the authentic connections we forge, and the flourishing of unbound creativity that enriches every corner of society.

This is a future we must build, and I hope to commit my career making it a reality.