Digital Intimacy: Closeness in a Connected World

Think about the last time you felt close to someone. There is a good chance a screen was involved — a goodnight text, a video call with a faraway parent, a running joke in a group chat. Digital intimacy is the name researchers give to this: emotional closeness that is formed, maintained, or shaped through technology (a 2023 study describes it as the ways people use digital platforms to start, maintain, and navigate their personal relationships).

This is no longer a fringe way of relating. Meeting online is now the single most common way heterosexual American couples meet, ahead of introductions through friends or family. Most of the world’s population now uses social media, typically for a couple of hours a day. And the connections are no longer only human-to-human: most American teenagers have at least tried an AI companion, a chatbot designed for personal conversation.

Why it matters

Whether closeness through screens is nourishing, hollow, or something in between is one of the live questions of the 2020s. It touches how we date, parent, grieve, and stay sane — especially at a moment when the World Health Organization estimates about 1 in 6 people worldwide is affected by loneliness.

What you’ll find on this site

• What is digital intimacy? — the definition, where the term comes from, and its main forms.
• Why does it exist? — the forces behind it, from loneliness to remote work to the pandemic.
• Digital intimacy in everyday life — recognizable stories: the long-distance couple, the gamer friendship, the AI companion user.
• Where it’s heading — companion robots, virtual reality, touch at a distance, and what experts don’t know.
• FAQ & further reading — quick answers to common questions, plus books and resources to go deeper.

Start anywhere. Each page stands on its own.