bioethicsobservatory.org
2026-02-11
Loneliness has become established as a structural and public health problem that hits adolescents particularly hard, a group where the incidence already exceeds that of people over 60. This article analyzes how exacerbated individualism and the weakening of the family institution have paved the way for an isolation that, paradoxically, coexists with digital hyperconnectivity.
From a bioethical perspective, the risk of technology and artificial intelligence supplanting real human connections by offering 'emotional anesthesia' is examined. This does not resolve the anthropological need for relationships and raises the urgent need to rebuild spaces for authentic coexistence in the face of the threat of normalized loneliness.
Loneliness has become one of the most worrying social and health phenomena of our time, with a particularly intense impact among adolescents and young people.
Far from being a marginal or transitory experience, various recent studies agree that it is a structural problem, linked to mental health, social transformations and the growing use of digital technologies.
An international report based on work promoted by the World Health Organization reveals that adolescents are currently the age group that experiences the most loneliness worldwide.