teddit

new study (disclaimer: not peer reviewed) found that chatbot use was associated with *greater* loneliness and reduced social interaction.

don't think it's crazy that people will start paying for friends vs. paying for AI services to address this.

sounds dystopian but if you consider how it's already happening then you realize it's surprisingly not. for example, in LA and NYC:

- social clubs like SoHo House or Zero Bond; you have to pay
- luxury wellness spaces like Hume or Othership; you have to pay
- cool coworking spaces like Neuehouse or Malin; you have to pay
- group activity apps like 222 or TimeLeft; you have to pay

link to study:

new study (disclaimer: not peer reviewed) found that chatbot use was associated with *greater* loneliness and reduced social interaction.

don't think it's crazy that people will start paying for friends vs. paying for AI services to address this.

sounds dystopian but if you consider how it's already happening then you realize it's surprisingly not. for example, in LA and NYC:

- social clubs like SoHo House or Zero Bond; you have to pay
- luxury wellness spaces like Hume or Othership; you have to pay
- cool coworking spaces like Neuehouse or Malin; you have to pay
- group activity apps like 222 or TimeLeft; you have to pay

link to study: https://arxiv.org/html/2503.17473v1

helping build farcaster | surfing @ venice, ca | eating @ gjusta / gjelina | “lucky me, lucky mud”

do you see a more "direct" type of paid companionship happening anywhere? 

cc @chello

𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓵𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓼𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓮𝓻 • building @buoy 🛟 • skeet.build • pfista.com

do you have more details on this? Are those typically older men I’m guessing?

yes, many men use escort services for this exact purpose and aren;t interested in anything sexually