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Sleep calls: New virtual service offers listening ear
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Unproven: Psychologist Azizatul Adni of Bale Psikolog in East Lombok says that various treatments are available for sleep disorders, but no research had yet taken a look at the pros and cons of sleep calls to address sleeplessness. (Unsplash/Kinga Cichewicz) (Unsplash/Kinga Cichewicz)
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part from offering a sense of comfort and companionship, sleep call services are emerging as a way for some to tackle sleeplessness and loneliness, though the practice's clinical benefits are as yet unproven.
Two individuals engage in a telephone conversation until one of them falls asleep. This is a “sleep call”, and while the practice usually occurs between people in a relationship, whether romantic, familial or just friends, some young entrepreneurs have started offering the service to virtual strangers.
Illala Ridya “Altha” Indriyani discovered that these kinds of calls were crucial for the quality of sleep she got and particularly in falling asleep easily, regardless of her relationship with the caller. Realizing that she was not alone, she opened a unique virtual service last year through the Instagram account, urvirtual.needs.
“Over the past two days, we received orders for up to 150 customers,” the Yogyakarta undergraduate student told The Jakarta Post in June.
“The user demographic ranges from 15 to 47 years old,” Altha said, adding that 70 percent of her customers were women, with many based in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Semarang. “We have customers [in] Papua as well.”
Those figures remained steady, if not expanded, during the pandemic. “The pandemic brought us many customers, probably because they feel lonely,” she said.
Interestingly, the service has attracted not only people who are single, but also many customers who are currently in romantic relationships. Besides sleep calls, customers can also request a virtual partner for all-day conversations or online gaming sessions.
