When friends can’t support each other through break-ups, this is the grim alternative

February 22, 2026 — 5:00am

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It’s official. We’re a nation of yearners, especially if the success of Olivia Dean’s song Man I Need in last month’s Triple J Hottest 100 is any guide.

I’m not ashamed to say that I too have sent it out as a gentle reminder of its message (hint, hint: come be the man I need!) and now I know I’m far from the only one. Satirical website The Beetoota Advocate says the song’s popularity confirms that “more Australians can relate to being frustrated by a man than going dancing with one” after Dean’s song beat Keli Holiday’s Dancing2 on the Triple J countdown.

But that light-hearted observation betrays a much darker reality. A Gallup poll from last year found that “23 per cent of the world’s population felt lonely ‘a lot of the day yesterday’.” That’s nearly one in four of us. The causes of such loneliness are likely many, but if people are looking to their phones for solace instead of making real physical connections, that, in most contexts, is cause for concern.

I’m not sure how familiar you are with AI, or how you feel towards it. I’m surrounded by people using it for writing prompts, for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald