For the past few years, the annual American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment has indicated that 60 percent or more of college students indicated that they felt “very lonely” within the previous year. There are several factors contributing to this, including the transition to college itself, as well as the geographic relocation and separation from established support systems. But a closer look at the evidence reveals that the rise of digital engagement is the real reason for the significant increase in feelings of isolation and loneliness for Gen Z.
Surveying a random sample of 7,500 workers, the study found that those in the youngest generation — Gen Z — report the highest levels of loneliness.
It is not only college students who report experiencing loneliness, as these feelings have become increasingly common among all members of Generation Z. A new Cigna Group study, “Loneliness in America 2025,” revealed that more than half of American workers feel lonely. Surveying a random sample of 7,500 workers, the study found that those in the youngest generation — Gen Z — report the highest levels of loneliness. Not surprisingly, Gen Zers also report the highest engagement with digital media. (RELATED: A Generation So Lonely, It Fell in Love With Furniture)
The growing number of studies on the increase in loneliness for Gen Z mirror what social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book, The Anxious Generation, documented as the “unprecedented levels” of Gen Z anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Haidt, who developed Moral Foundations Theory and currently teaches at NYU’s Stern Business School, attributes much of the Gen Z mental health crisis to the rise of digital technology, especially the constant connectivity and social comparison facilitated by platforms like Instagram and TikTok. (RELATED: Loneliness Is the New Oil)
These technologies disrupt sleep, foster isolation, and create an environment where insecurities thrive. Worse, social media often fosters a sense of exclusion — a fear that one is missing out on the kind of social engagement that others seem to be enjoying.
In The Politics of Envy, I look at the ways in which some Gen Zers overestimate and envy the kind of fun that they perceive others having. For example, the Incel community — a group of resentful young men who meet online and lament their predicament of being “involuntarily celibate” provides an extreme form of this problem. Bemoaning their fate, the Incels gather online to discuss their frustrations, share grievances, and express anger about their perceived inability to form romantic relationships. Blaming the attractive “Chads” (a caricature of an attractive male with a chiseled jawline and perfect body) who are able to successfully seduce the beautiful but unattainable “Stacies,” the lonely Incels find themselves even more engaged with their computers. Some of the more desperate and rage-filled Incels have acted on their resentful loneliness in violent ways — sometimes with the support of a radical Incel community.
Artificial Comfort
One of the ways in which a growing number of Gen Zers are attempting to alleviate their loneliness is by using AI chatbots as sources of advice, comfort, and companionship. A June 2025 Pew Research survey reported that 58 percent of those ages 18-29 have interacted with an AI chatbot through ChatGPT in the previous year. This is a doubling of the rate of use since the summer of 2023. While it is likely that the majority of all of those who are using ChatGPT are using it to do practical tasks like help with research, solve practical problems, or even help with required homework, a growing number of those in Gen Z are using AI chatbots for advice or companionship. And although there is no reliable research on the number of those who are seeking AI chatbots for empathetic conversation or coping strategies for alleviating loneliness, there is anecdotal evidence that these numbers are growing. (RELATED: Mom, Meet My New AI Girlfriend)
Psychology Today recently reported on an Internet Matters study that revealed that 40 percent of teens who use AI chatbots trust their guidance without question, while another 36 percent are uncertain whether they should be concerned about AI advice at all. This is a problem because AI chatbot systems are designed to be agreeable. Engagement is their primary function: “Think of it like having a friend who always says, ‘Yes, you’re right.’ The chatbot learns to mirror your opinions and validate your feelings because that keeps you using the platform.”
Sometimes this can have disastrous consequences, as in the case of a number of individuals who have become convinced by their AI chatbot that suicide is the best solution for their loneliness and isolation. In a lawsuit filed in Florida by the parents of a teenage boy who they claim became obsessed with a chatbot that advised him to end his life. The boy, who had been diagnosed with mild Asperger’s syndrome as a child, but according to his mother, never had serious behavioral or mental health problems before, fell in love with his AI chatbot. According to the New York Times, the boy disclosed in his journal that “I like staying in my room so much because I start to detach from this reality and I also feel more at peace, more connected with Dany (his AI chatbot) and much more in love with her, and just happier.”
It is clear that AI chatbots can validate and exacerbate harmful thoughts and delusions, potentially contributing to psychosis and mental health crises in vulnerable individuals like that Florida boy. While there is no DSM clinical diagnosis for AI Psychosis, there have been reports in the media and online forums describing cases in which AI chatbots may have amplified or even created psychotic symptoms. Last month, rumors surfaced that Bedrock managing partner and OpenAI investor Geoff Lewis posted a rambling video on X, raising concerns about his mental health.
The concerns about Gen Z loneliness remain. Some colleges are redesigning residential life to foster more organic connections. More than four decades ago, my own academic home, Franciscan University of Steubenville, implemented the Household System in order to reduce isolation and help students feel a part of a close-knit community as soon as they step on campus. Other campuses — including Ave Maria University — are following suit by creating or expanding their own Household Systems. These schools recognize that fostering community helps students feel connected, and while post-college loneliness is more challenging, workplaces can be designed to reduce isolation through intentional community-building.
Research has shown that creating an environment of optimism can make a huge difference in the lives of students and workers. Optimistic students and workers tend to adjust more easily to academic or work situations, feel less isolated and lonely, and show stronger commitment to their school or workplace goals. Creating an optimistic, engaging, and supportive environment — without the assistance of AI chatbots — would be a start.
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