The Loneliness Fix That Isn't

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Hi there, it’s Thomas.

Like many of you, I didn’t suffer for furry companionship as a kid.

I grew up in a household filled with pets. We had dogs and cats (mainly), a hamster (briefly), and frogs (each Spring, very briefly). I have so many childhood memories of their furry companionship, totally unfettered by the “adulting” aspects of caring for animals.

As a working adult and then as a married parent, we had cats, dogs, and even chickens to keep us and our kids company. But then things changed.

After my divorce and setting up separate households, the challenges of keeping pets as a part-time single parent proved more than I could handle. For the last decade, I’ve been relying on my friends’ pets to brighten our lives with their furry companionship.

Surely, I can’t be alone in struggling with how to get all the benefits of furry companionship, but only compelled to provide the caretaking needs required by a plant?

Turns out I’m not. There’s a bunch of us out there.

And in our epidemic of loneliness, businesses are taking note of the opportunity.

With that as a backdrop, I was more than a little intrigued at the announcement a couple of weeks ago that we’re now have a new cuddly, furry, artificial intelligence pet with personality here in the United States.

CASIO, the Japanese brand best known for G-Shock digital watches, has launched a $429 robotic companion named Moflin in the U.S. market. It’s small, furry, squeaks like a guinea pig, and promises to simulate real emotional bonding using AI-powered behavior, creating authentic and evolving interactions.

At first glance, Moflin appears to be a cute little toy, perhaps a step up from a regular stuffed animal, to fill the gap between that and a real-life pet. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see it for what it really is: a technological response to a social crisis.

Loneliness has surged dramatically in recent decades. According to the American Time Use Survey, Americans now spend 24% less of their leisure time with other people than they did in 2003. Gallup data shows that 1 in 5 Americans feels lonely every single day. So perhaps it’s not surprising that companies are trying to turn loneliness into a business model.

But here’s the thing: real friendship, real conversation, and real community aren’t just optional features of a good life. They’re central to our health, resilience, and even our longevity.

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Manufactured Companionship ≠ Real Connection

Moflin is just the latest in a long line of robotic “companions,” from old-school Tamagotchis to Sony’s Aibo dog to Replika chatbots and AI-generated partners. Even OpenAI’s own data suggests people are already turning to large language models for companionship: over 5% of conversations involve self-expression, roleplay, or relationships.

And, over on Reddit, the subreddit r/MyBoyfriendIsAI has over 29,000 members.

Clearly, there’s a need. But filling a need with the wrong solution can be dangerous. Substituting AI companionship for real friendship is like taking a protein shake but skipping every meal, or worse, like popping diet pills instead of exercising. It may feel helpful in the short term, but it doesn’t build the kind of muscle and health foundation you actually need.

Real relationships require effort. But they also deliver the real rewards: trust, empathy, accountability, laughter, and warmth.

Friendship Is a Health Practice

Social psychologist Julianne Holt-Lunstad has shown in numerous studies that strong, diverse social ties are one of the most reliable predictors of long-term health, on par with quitting smoking or getting regular exercise.

But just like physical fitness, social fitness declines when neglected.

Our relationships are becoming brittle. Not because we don’t care, but because we’re distracted. Phones, work, kids, endless scrolls of other people’s lives on Instagram—all of it adds up. We stop making phone calls. We don’t ask follow-up questions. We don’t say “I love you” enough. And eventually, we start to feel like we’re alone.

In that void, AI companions look convenient. They’re predictable. Non-judgmental. Always available. But they can’t offer you real growth, or the kind of vulnerability that leads to intimacy.

Real People Are Worth the Effort

True relationships involve disagreement. Awkward pauses. Missed calls. Apologies. But they’re also filled with serendipity, inside jokes, shared meals, and the unmistakable warmth of a hug.

You don’t need 100 close friends. You just need a few people who really know you. And that only happens if you risk being known, by putting yourself out there again and again.

This Week’s Challenge: The Friendship Fitness Set

Here’s your challenge before the next issue hits your inbox:

• Set a timer for 15 minutes and call someone you haven’t spoken to in 3+ months.

• Send one emotional text (“Just thinking of you today and appreciating our friendship”).

• Say yes to one social invitation you would normally decline.

Each one of these is a rep in your social health gym.

Unlike a chatbot, a real friend might just surprise you with something back.

And, unlike an AI-robot, a real friend can take care of your cat while you’re away for a weekend.

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