The month of August is usually associated with holidays, rest, travel, and time spent with family and friends. However, for thousands of people, it also represents one of the times of the year when loneliness becomes more visible.
Elderly people who remain alone while their families are on vacation, young people who spend the summer in semi-empty cities, or families who cannot afford to travel experience greater social isolation during these weeks, a phenomenon that is leading more and more people to turn to artificial intelligence as a tool for emotional support.
Spain is currently the European country where generative artificial intelligence is most used for accompaniment and mental health support. 61% of the population already resorts to these types of solutions, compared to an average of 52% in Europe, consolidating a trend that is transforming the relationship between technology and well-being.
This is reflected in the study “The Economy of Loneliness. The Role of AI in Mental Health”, prepared by EAE Business School in collaboration with Nex·ia, both belonging to the higher education network Planeta Formación Universidades.
Summer, an accelerator of loneliness
Although loneliness is a structural phenomenon, summer acts as an accelerator of many situations of isolation. Holidays modify social routines, reduce usual support networks, and leave groups such as the elderly, those who live alone, or those who remain in their places of residence while their environment travels for holidays particularly exposed.
Likewise, economic inequalities also become more evident during these months. People who cannot afford to travel or access leisure activities are at greater risk of isolation, a reality that is related to a higher prevalence of loneliness among those with financial difficulties (36%) compared to those who easily make ends meet (19.4%).
For Pilar Saura, Dean of EAE Business School, “loneliness is emerging as one of the major economic and social challenges of the next decade, not only because of its effects on public health but also because of its capacity to redefine markets, consumption models, and technological development”.
The reality is that unwanted loneliness already affects 13.4% of the Spanish population and generates an estimated economic cost of 14,141 million euros annually, equivalent to 1.17% of GDP. Of this figure, 6,101 million correspond to direct healthcare costs derived from the increased use of primary care services and the rise in psychotropic drug consumption, while another 8,039 million come from lost productivity linked to absenteeism, illness, and premature death.
More single-person households and new forms of leisure
The rise of single-person households is changing spending, saving, and consumption patterns. It is predicted that by 2039 there will be 7.7 million single-person households (33.5% of the total), becoming the most common living arrangement in Spain, surpassing couples with children. This social transformation is driving an estimated "loneliness rate" of an additional 7,078 euros per year per person due to the inability to share expenses.
Likewise, isolation is fostering the growth of more individualized consumption models, especially among younger generations. The fact that 38.5% of Gen Z prefers food delivery over going out partying consolidates a model of comfortable loneliness facilitated by digital leisure.
Furthermore, this phenomenon particularly affects younger generations, such that Generation Z and Millennials are experiencing a paradoxical "digital loneliness" in which hyperconnectivity coexists with relational isolation, burnout, and a growing demand for mental health services. Technology, and especially conversational artificial intelligence, is beginning to play an increasingly prominent role as a tool for emotional and social support.
“In this context, affective technology and conversational AI will mark part of the evolution of sectors such as mental health, well-being, digital leisure, or the care economy, in a context where the need for emotional connection is also becoming a primary economic and technological asset,” points out Chelo Morillo, Vice-Dean of EAE Business School.
Conversational AI is consolidating among young people
According to the study, 34.9% of young people between 25 and 34 years old already use AI tools to search for information related to mental health, while part of Generation Z has begun to use these systems as a way of emotional release or conversational substitute.
“Conversational AI is evolving from a purely productive function towards an emotional and relational use. 18% of adolescent girls and 12% of young Spaniards use AI tools “to talk or tell their things,” consolidating a new category of technological consumption linked to affective companionship,” points out Jone Vicente Urrutia, academic head of Nex·ia.
Platforms like Replika or Character.ai reflect the growth of new models of digital social interaction. While Replika, specialized in emotional support and virtual relationships, already exceeds 30 million users worldwide, Character.ai registered 194.4 million visits in January 2026 alone.
In parallel, the so-called “affective computing” is advancing, that is, technologies capable of detecting, interpreting, and responding to human emotions. This market could exceed 388 billion dollars globally before 2030. However, this trend also raises questions related to emotional dependence, technological trust, or the possible substitution of human relationships, especially among the most vulnerable groups.
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