Despite spending hours on social media each day connecting with friends, many Thais say they are still lonely and trust machines more than people, according to a new report by Kantar Thailand.
A survey of 1,003 people found loneliness widespread across class, marital status and age distinctions, with technology often exacerbating the isolation.
The report said 48% of married people and 47% of single people were lonely. Some 53% of people with children were lonely, while 76% of people living in a three-generation household were lonely.
A full 58% of lonely people said they trusted machines more than people, while only 21% of non-lonely people said the same. Some 80% of lonely people said they did not get enough sleep, compared with 50% for non-lonely people.
"Many people in Thailand are always online, but emotionally they still feel disconnected," said Arpapat Boonrod, chief executive of Kantar Thailand. "There are more people stressed out with more emotional illnesses like depression, especially among young people."
While some lonely people spent lots of time online chatting with friends, they still felt loneliness. Some 15% of lonely people spent up to five hours each day on Facebook but said they felt isolated and disconnected, according to the study.
A full 90% of lonely people said it was important to take time off their phones and the internet, compared with 69% of non-lonely people.
"Ironically, using mobile phones and social media are supposed to make us less lonely, but actually many people who spend a lot of time online find offline relationships difficult," Ms Arpapat said.
A previous Mahidol University study estimated that 26.7 million people in Thailand were lonely out of a population of 69.7 million.
Lonely people also tended to favour different apps than non-lonely people. While Facebook, YouTube and Line were the most popular apps overall, lonely people favoured using on-demand streaming apps like Netflix and Line TV.
But lonely people are no more likely to use e-commerce sites than non-lonely people, and sometimes they use offline retail as a means of feeling less isolated.
Some brands are even able to market to lonely people. The study found that lonely people were more likely to buy a product with a friendly face on it.
Tech companies are developing apps for lonely people like BonsAI, an AI chat app designed to give advice to lonely people about their problems.
A full 95% of lonely people said they liked popular and accepted brands, while 82% preferred good experiences over tangible products and 83% said they needed 24-hour services for their daily lives.
"You can even get hints that someone is lonely by looking at their social media," Ms Arpapat said. "People who aren't lonely often look at the camera in social media pictures, while lonely people often look away or post more abstract pictures."
Lonely people also find solace from pets, and businesses are popping up to meet that need. Animal cafes give people a chance to play with animals without a full commitment, while apps like Bark’N’Borrow let users walk or babysit dogs via the platform.
