Paul Bloom: The US Has a Solitude Epidemic, Not a Loneliness Epidemic

Psychologist Paul Bloom argues the US is not experiencing a loneliness epidemic but a solitude epidemic — one being accelerated by AI companionship apps. Bloom has spent his career examining uncomfortable corners of human psychology, including why revenge feels righteous and why isolation feels physically painful. He contends AI companions entrench rather than cure the problem of solitude.