The vice president of Germany's parliament, Bodo Ramelow, has called for more opportunities for people to meet in person, warning of the social consequences of digitalization.

"We need spaces where people can come together again," Ramelow said during an interview with the news portal Web.de News which was published on Thursday.

He pointed to the steady decline of traditional meeting places such as village shops and pubs, as well as falling attendance at church services.

"Fewer and fewer people are going to church," he said. "But the desire to experience something together is still there."

Ramelow, previously served as premier of the eastern state of Thuringia for about a decade.

He is currently a lawmaker for the Left party and serves as the group's spokesman on church and religious affairs. He describes himself as a practising Protestant.

In the interview, Ramelow urged society to rethink its priorities. "We live in a world in which individualization has led to consumer spending becoming the only thing that ultimately matters," he said. "But spending money does not fill the emptiness of hearts and souls."

A June 2025 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that one in three older people and one in four adolescents are estimated to be socially isolated.

The impact is not only individual but also societal, with billions in costs to healthcare systems and losses in employment, the report said.

Causes of isolation include illness, poor education, low income, a lack of opportunities for social interaction, living alone and the use of digital technologies.

Researchers noted that humans have communicated for millennia not only through words but also through facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and silence.

These forms of communication are lost when people rely solely on mobile phones and social media.