Bro got married to ChatGPT ☠️☠️
I can't even make fun of these dudes because I know that everybody is experiencing the same alienation and loneliness in capitalism. It's a systemic issue which means that it can only be solved by systemic action. But there is no systemic action on the horizon so everybody is dealing with it however they can. Anyway, check out r/replika if you feel like your life is spiraling out of control
As much as I like dunking on these people, what they're doing isn't that much different than someone self-inserting in a romance story. These bots are more or less shittier dating sims which I can guarantee most people on Hexbear have enjoyed.
Lonely and isolated people have always used things like these to cope.
Are... dating sims, widely played? I know they're 'popular', but I assumed popular among fair minority of the populace.
I wouldn't say that they're widely played but I think the demographics of Hexbear lean heavily towards the people who play them. Socially isolated young people who like anime. DDLC, while being a subversion of those tropes, was also a cultural phenomena.
As for romances, I would say a majority of the population has received vicarious fulfillment from that medium.