A small part of the media space is devoted to the topic of businesses making money on loneliness. It is worth realizing that a single person with access to the Internet is a lucrative commodity for companies today.
In the movie "Blade Runner 2049", the main character K (played by Ryan Gosling) falls in love with a hologram named Joi. Even though the relationship superficially looks real, unfortunately, this feeling is based on an illusion. From a third-person perspective, it can be concluded that the relationship between K and Joi is not genuine because Joi is programmed to love a man. K is also aware of this, but these emotions are still very important to him.
The mechanism shown in this video is the foundation of many business models, which are intended to give you a substitute for attention, attachment, or being part of a community. However, this only happens because the system is programmed to deliver all this.
Only when we understand that, just as Joi from "Blade Runner" was programmed to do one thing, corporations program other things to make us feel a certain way. Once we understand this harmful mechanism, we can see how much corporations damage our ability to invest in real and authentic connections with people.
The growing loneliness among societies is being exploited by both companies and influencers, many of whom are beginning to see it as a significant business opportunity. From the thousands of dating platforms that have emerged over the past decade to the rise of co-living and collaboration spaces, the promise of facilitated human connection has become a goldmine of marketing opportunities.
Here is one parent's comment:
“I don't know what to do, my son prefers to watch streams on Twitch instead of reliving his childhood. His activity is limited to sitting at the computer or lying on the bed with the phone. Despite my attempts to spend time with him, I still can't beat his idols. I have the impression that they are his friends or family, they are the ones he spends most of his time with. How can I compete with someone on the internet if it's their job and they can be with my child for up to 10 hours a day?
We seemingly live in well-connected times. Corporations invest in various solutions, such as portals and applications, that enable us to make new friends. At first glance, they are guided by altruism - they help us find a partner, friends, or someone with whom we can simply talk.
However, in reality, these platforms often exploit our loneliness, turning it into a source of profit. They use advertising, paid subscription options, and collected data about our interests and behavior for marketing purposes, which brings huge financial benefits to companies.
When you spend time with family or friends, neither you nor the corporations make any profit. However, the situation changes when you pay attention to apps like Tinder, Instagram, or OnlyFans. The conclusion is simple - the less time we spend with people, and the more time we devote to a given application, the greater the source of income for it.
Innovative technologies have enabled almost endless contact. Instant messaging, video conferencing, and various social media platforms have removed the barrier of geographic distance, allowing individuals to interact instantly, regardless of place and time. In theory, society is now much more connected than ever before.
According to Harvard, 61% of young adults experience profound feelings of loneliness, and statistics illustrate that loneliness has continued to increase since the 1970s. Some specialists estimate that this phenomenon not only shortens life by 15 years and is a source of threat to mental health but also may have serious economic consequences for people. And this should give us the most food for thought. People lose their health and money due to loneliness, and corporations benefit from it - they can then keep the user's attention better and longer.
Applications such as OnlyFans, Twitch, Tinder, and Instagram are examples of applications based on parasocial relationships. This means that one party devotes their own emotional energy, interest, and time to building the relationship, while the other party remains completely unaware of the existence of the former. The above-mentioned applications are based largely on the emotional attachment of their users. Celebrities and influential people particularly benefit from this situation, as they can gain significant financial benefits based on the growing popularity of parasocial relationships.
Twitch is an online service that is one of the most popular streaming platforms and is currently the market leader. Initially, its purpose was to present broadcasts of computer games and electronic sports competitions. Over time, however, Twitch also became a platform for building relationships for users.
Every day, several hundred thousand users visit Twitch to follow their favorite streamers and actively participate in the life of the community.
Twitch gives you the opportunity to broadcast live, watch videos about art, cooking or music, and chat with people from all over the world. Therefore, Twitch is no longer just a platform intended for gamers - it offers many other engaging activities that emotionally connect its users.
Are you having relationship problems? Go to Twitch - where you can be part of a chat group, exchange your observations, and listen to others' comments. Each follower can send a message to the streamer - the host replies to some messages and comments on others.
But let's move on to why Twitch is an example of a parasocial relationship?
To put it simply, this platform preys on single people. Let me give you an example. A famous Twitch streamer has been streaming continuously for 10 hours. Observers watch the stream, commenting in the chat not only on the broadcast but also exchanging their own opinions on given topics. So what kind of relationship will be built between a streamer and an ordinary user who is just one of his many followers? Such a relationship is one-sided and reinforces the feeling of loneliness among users.
Why leave the house and build real relationships when you have your favorite Twitch streams at your fingertips every day? This particular type of relationship created on the platform is attractive to the viewer for many reasons. Why? It does not hold him responsible for maintaining relationships in real life, which involves no risk and unpleasant consequences. In fact, we are exposed to rejection and a number of other threats that may potentially occur in interpersonal contact. On Twitch, you don't have to worry about this - you are in a safe environment, and your attention is maintained by content that benefits the platform by watching it.
In the case of OnlyFans, almost all the money generated by the platform is earned by the best creators. The top 1% of accounts earn 33% of all money, and the top 10% of accounts earn 73% of all money" - this is research conducted by XSRUS. So this statistic shows that profits from OnlyFans are distributed very unevenly.
The application gives you access to videos, photos, and audio files. However, the condition for access is a subscription fee. Additionally, for another fee, the user gains access to personalized content - messages, photos, and videos. And while some content creators share recipes or fitness tips, adult content dominates the platform.
Unlike social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, OnlyFans allows you to share nudes. This makes it a popular choice among sex workers looking to generate income online.
Single men have become a lucrative source of income for OnlyFans models selling adult content. The paradox is that Internet users currently have almost unlimited access to erotic content. But why is OnlyFans so popular?
OnlyFans' audience is predominantly male. For many of them, watching attractive women creators can be a substitute for closeness and intimacy. When you select an account on OnlyFans, you will only see the number of posts and subscribers. Once you subscribe, you gain access to previously unseen content. This is a very simple principle thanks to which the application makes money based on your curiosity. When you pay for content, you are also investing on an emotional level.
The application gives a false sense of closeness. It makes the viewer feel appreciated and noticed. Posts are constructed as a direct address to the addressee - the recipient then has the impression that the content is written especially for him. But this is not the only thing that creates a sense of intimacy with the creator. Communication in private messages is also important - this is where content authors respond to every message, even the most trivial and boring. So you don't have to be interesting to attract attention - all you need is the right amount of money.
OnlyFans makes it possible for anyone who would normally find it difficult to do so to establish relationships. The platform offers a form of guaranteed attention that cannot be found in real life. On the surface, it seems like the perfect antidote to loneliness - you can simply open the app and get attention from the person you like. Here you don't have to feel uncomfortable or risk rejection. OnlyFans eliminates the problem of building relationships in real life and does not require the time needed to shape them.
However, this line of thought, according to which this application operates, may turn out to be very harmful. It deprives us of the desire for self-improvement in interpersonal relationships and building our own character. It is worth remembering that creating and maintaining real relationships with people will be slower and require more effort, but ultimately it will also bring greater satisfaction. A romantic relationship cannot be replaced by a superficial relationship on OnlyFans.
Single men using the app are at risk of becoming addicted to such content. This argument also applies to regular porn sites, but in the case of OnlyFans, there is also an apparent relationship between creator and viewer. Single men can then easily fall in love with the company offered by models and replace real contacts with those they pay for. OnlyFans creators who prey on this loneliness act immorally and cause psychological harm to their recipients.
A team of researchers from Stanford Medicine published the results of a study that focused on people using Tinder. The platform, which has over 75 million active users, remains the most popular dating app in the world. However, it turns out that arranging a date is often not the primary motivation of users. Half of them admit that they do not need to meet a person from Tinder in person, while two-thirds of respondents using the application are already in a relationship.
In their study, researchers from Stanford Medicine focused on the psychological motivations of people using Tinder. The respondents' motivations were diverse - many respondents admitted that they used the application to maintain social contacts, for entertainment, and as a "regulator" of emotions. Importantly, research has led to the conclusion that the application allows you to deal with loneliness and increases self-esteem.
Tinder gives you the opportunity to meet new people. For some users, the reason they decided to download the app is because they have difficulty establishing relationships in real life, whether it's friendship or a relationship. The inability to cope with interpersonal contacts, in turn, leads to a feeling of loneliness, and the application is intended to be a remedy for this condition.
In fact, Tinder makes money off of lonely and desperate individuals. In the beginning, he will give you a few pairs to later limit the possibility of finding an interesting person and encourage you to buy packages. This leads to the following conclusion - the system does not want to help you find a match, but to make money from you. Currently, Tinder has three subscription levels – Plus, Gold and Platinum, which offer its users many more options. The condition, of course, is the appropriate amount that will allow you to "discover Tinder's full potential." The introduction of subscriptions is just a marketing trick intended to make you addicted to the application and its subsequent improvements.
Instagram is currently one of the most popular applications. It is based on a simple principle - it allows you to follow influential people and upload photos and reports. It also gives users the false feeling that others have a richer social life, visit many interesting places and meet interesting people. However, what is most important - Instagram builds in its recipients the feeling that they are creating some kind of relationship with the people they follow.
These relationships are most common with celebrities and media personalities and are based on apparent contacts between the influencer and the follower. The appearance of emotional intimacy between influencers and their audiences creates a particular sensitivity to suggestions, from product recommendations to lifestyle choices. For many celebrities, exploiting these emotional connections often takes the form of brand deals in which influencers will encourage followers to purchase certain items from a "friend's" perspective. So you see that the mentioned applications only seem to be helpful to their users in establishing and building relationships. In fact, all activities of platforms are aimed at specific financial profit. Application creators are aware that lonely people are often defenseless and desperate, so their actions will be superficial - under the guise of a miraculous way to get rid of loneliness, these platforms will encourage people to buy a subscription or invest more time.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neurobiology at Brigham Young University, warns against overemphasizing online applications and platforms as the perfect remedy for satisfying the need for contact with other people.
– We have a lot of evidence about how loneliness affects mental health, physical health and cognitive abilities. The new challenge is to find a way to reduce these negative effects of lack of contact with another person, the scientist said. – New technologies provide us with the need for closeness, but we still do not know whether it is enough. Even so, the universality of this type of solutions is still debatable, as not everyone can or is able to use them, which may result in even greater social exclusion.
Our communities are increasingly divided by politics and propaganda. It's becoming more and more difficult to connect with random people and just talk to them. What's more, people are moving more often than ever before, making it harder for them to establish roots in a particular place. Cultivating a friendship takes a long time, and in most cases, closeness is the driving factor behind the relationship.
Given all this, it's not surprising that we feel so isolated. Our lives are not currently designed for socializing. The problem is that humans are social creatures who need human interaction to survive.
The economy of loneliness is a new trend in today's world of services, which includes, among others: digital applications aimed at satisfying the need for contact with other people. However, the ethical aspect of this type of service remains a controversial issue. The scale of demand for services related to the economy of loneliness is difficult to estimate, however, more and more solutions are emerging to address the need for closeness to another person, from applications such as Bumble BFF, which selects candidates for friends, to services such as "hire a buddy" or pillow manufacturers, resembling a human.
Each of these applications has recently seen a sharp increase in demand for their services. Importantly, even applications that have just been put into use are experiencing a rapid boom. QuarantineChat, a platform that makes it easier for lonely people to talk on the phone, had 15,000 active subscribers two months after its launch.
Currently, the so-called gig economy involves temporary work in the form of carrying out tasks and projects instead of permanent employment. Having to work on your own, without a team of colleagues, increases the feeling of loneliness, which is why some gig workers decide to work in coworking spaces.
A 2017 Harvard Business Review study also indicates that the decision to use a shared office is driven by the desire to avoid the feeling of loneliness. WeWork, an American company providing coworking spaces, has expanded its offer with events for the community. such as board game nights or shared dinners for space users. The investment in bringing people together has paid off. According to Business Insider, at the end of 2019, the value of coworking-related services amounted to $26 billion.
The advent of the “solitude economy” has raised necessary moral questions. While many of these platforms and influencers have provided viewers with temporary relief from social isolation, they also have addictive qualities that are harmful in the long run, both financially and emotionally.
The situation raises ethical questions about the monetization of human emotions - the market approach to loneliness requires reflection. We live in a world where feelings such as friendship, connection, and love have become the most unique products on the market. Sometimes you may not even realize that you are a product being sold. Social media ostensibly serves people to build interpersonal connections, and influencers are supposed to offer parasocial relationships that will never provide real interactions.
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