Topic: social isolation
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Best Apps to Make New Friends in 2026
The rise of remote work and social isolation has fueled significant demand for friendship apps, which offer structured, digital platforms to build meaningful platonic connections. These apps serve diverse audiences, from remote workers to younger adults, and have seen substantial market growth wi...
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Apple's Find My App - Addictable !
Apple's Find My app has evolved from a simple device-locator into a minimalist, real-time social network, particularly popular among younger users seeking authentic connection beyond traditional, ad-saturated platforms. The app's widespread use for logistics and social coordination raises complex...
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Unlock Access to Premium Hearing Aids Through Connections
A new high-end hearing aid technology provides a transformative experience for users, significantly improving clarity in social situations, but many insurance plans do not cover such devices, leaving millions without access. The product is initially available only through an exclusive, high-touch...
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Inside the Care Home's Surreal 'Hugging Room'
An Italian care home created a "hugging room" in November 2020, using a plastic barrier to allow safe physical embraces between residents and their families during lockdowns. Strict safety protocols in care homes worldwide led to widespread loneliness among elderly residents, as digital interacti...
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Renters Face the Vanishing Living Room
Nearly a third of room listings on SpareRoom lack a living room, driven by high rental demand and landlords converting spaces to offset mortgage costs and offer cheaper rents. The absence of communal areas increases social isolation and forces residents to socialize outside, often at greater expe...
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Apple Vision Pro M5 Review: A Powerful Upgrade, But Still a Solo Experience
The Vision Pro is a technologically impressive VR headset, but its isolating nature and the habit of strapping on a device make it one that users can easily do without in favor of simpler alternatives like iPhones or TVs. Key upgrades in the new model include the M5 processor for improved perform...
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The Sony Watchman: The Must-See Portable TV
Sony revolutionized television in 1982 with the Watchman, a portable device that freed viewers from stationary sets and predated modern streaming and mobile screens. The Watchman featured key innovations like the Flat Display Picture Tube, making it compact and discreet for on-the-go use with rea...
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When a Friend Is Your Worst Enemy
The AI wearable "Friend" is marketed as a loneliness-combatting companion but delivers limited, often disappointing interactions, relying on push notifications and a single button for engagement. Public skepticism and design flaws, such as an awkward glowing appearance, poor microphone performanc...
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The Best Apps for Making New Friends
The desire for platonic connections has grown due to factors like remote work, leading to the rise of dedicated friendship apps that provide clear environments for building local communities. A variety of apps now cater to this demand, offering structured ways to meet people through features like...
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5 Pivots to Profit: How a YC App Hit 300K Users & $1M ARR in 6 Months
Candle, a social app for couples and close friends, rapidly grew to 300,000 users and over $1 million in annual recurring revenue by pivoting from a failed AI shopping tool based on user feedback and a viral TikTok video. The app differentiates itself by focusing on strengthening existing relatio...
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How Gamer Culture Complicated Charlie Kirk's Death
The shooting of Charlie Kirk highlighted a cultural divide, as mainstream media initially misreported it as ideologically motivated, failing to grasp the digital subculture context behind the attacker's ironic, gaming-inspired messages. The accused, Tyler Robinson, exemplified being "deeply onlin...
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How Planet Money's TikTok Inspired a Brilliant Animated Movie
The animated film *Boys Go to Jupiter* follows a gig worker in Florida and critiques how the gig economy and capitalism distort human connections and value, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Director Julian Glander drew inspiration from pandemic-era "national hysteria" and Planet Money's J...
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