Sex doll for mental support
Sex dolls as mental support means they provide emotional comfort. This might involve placing sex dolls in the living room for company, at the kitchen table as a conversation partner, or in the bedroom to cuddle up to in the evening. (1)
Just like having a pet such as a hamster or fish that essentially can’t talk back, some people benefit from having this presence. They need someone around at home to ease their feelings of loneliness.
In science, this is called the Tamagotchi effect: the effect in which people develop a relationship with inanimate objects, like Tamagotchis in the past. (2)
So, sex dolls are used for more than just sex, for purposes that touch on a much deeper emotional layer than you might initially think. (3)
Other purposes of sex dolls
Of course, it’s not purely physical or purely emotional. There are also combinations in which a sex doll is used as a cuddling partner while sleeping, combining the physical and emotional aspects.
We previously divided the different groups who bought sex dolls and discussed their physical and emotional purposes.
Een Reddit gebruiker vermeldde: “ik heb een doll gekocht zodat ik iemand had om mee te knuffelen en vasthouden in bed, ik val beter in slaap, en het hielp met mijn stemming na een lastige relatiebreuk.” (4)
Human loneliness
The older someone gets, the lonelier they become. (5)
Social isolation is normal and genuinely present, so it makes sense that people want a solution and do not accept it. Various methods include getting a pet (6); even when it is electric (7), it appears to have a positive effect on loneliness.
Artificial chatbots (8) also have a positive effect on loneliness.
How sex dolls alleviate loneliness
Given that even robots (9), or non-living beings, can alleviate loneliness, it stands to reason that sex dolls could also alleviate and remedy loneliness, both now and as they continue to develop. Technology can indeed be used to combat social loneliness.
References:
- Lievesley, R., Reynolds, R., & Harper, C. A. (2023). The ‘PERFECT’ partner: Understanding the lived experiences of men who own sex dolls. Sexuality & Culture, 27(1419–1441). Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-023-10071-5
- Wikipedia. (n.d.). Tamagotchi effect. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamagotchi_effect
- Aoki, S., & Kimura, T. (2021). A thing like a human? A mixed-methods study on sex doll usage. Journal/Publisher (PMC). Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10903549
- Reddit user contributions. (2023). Owners of sex dolls are less prone to sexual … Reddit. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://www.reddit.com/r/psychology/comments/11tri91/owners_of_sex_dolls_are_less_prone_to_sexual/
- Adams, J. E., Jones, J., & Smith, P. (2020). Loneliness: The present and the future. Ageing & Society, 48(4), 476–? Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://academic.oup.com/ageing/article/48/4/476/5423796
- Kretzler, B., König, H.-H., & Hajek, A. (2022). Pet ownership, loneliness, and social isolation: A systematic review. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 57(10), 1935–1957. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9272860/
- Tkatch, R., Wu, L., MacLeod, S., Ungar, R., Albright, L., Russell, D., Murphy, J., Schaeffer, J., & Yeh, C. S. (2021). Reducing loneliness and improving well-being among older adults with animatronic pets. Aging & Mental Health, 25(7), 1239–1245. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32363903/
- Fu, Z., Yan, M., Han, X., Zhang, K., & Zhao, X. (2026). The effectiveness of artificial agents on loneliness reduction in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 140, 106056. Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41124893/
- Duffner, H., Susanty, A., et al. (2025). Wired for companionship: A meta-analysis on social robots filling the void of loneliness in later life. The Gerontologist, 65(12). Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article/65/12/gnaf219/8268528
