Psychoanalyst José Ramón Ubieto examines digital era's paradoxical loneliness epidemic

Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst José Ramón Ubieto has shifted his research focus toward digital technologies and their psychological impacts following the COVID-19 pandemic. Born in Sabiñánigo in 1958, Ubieto previously concentrated on youth and childhood issues throughout his career. His extensive publications now explore how hyper-connected societies experience increasing loneliness, manifesting in phenomena like the manosphere, hikikomori, and fanaticism. The digital explosion prompted this new direction in his work, which continued with the emergence of the metaverse. Ubieto analyzes what exists behind and beyond screens, investigating the contemporary symptoms generated by rapidly changing societies. His examination reveals that today's most connected historical period paradoxically produces profound isolation.