Boyfriends for rent, robots, camming: how the business of loneliness is booming

Even before the Covid pandemic, loneliness had been deemed an official epidemic in several countries - and some companies have offered tech-based solutions

This was the year we all began social distancing. But the ensuing isolation was already the norm for a rapidly growing population - and a major opportunity for many businesses. And as isolation has engulfed the globe like the virus itself, the business of loneliness is booming.

Even before the pandemic, loneliness had been deemed an official epidemic in several countries. Rates of loneliness in the US have doubled over the past 50 years. In 2018, some 200,000 of the UK's elderly hadn't spoken to a friend or relative in a month, according to a government report, and 75% of the country's general practitioners report seeing between one and five lonely patients each day.