Waifuism is one flavor of it, but it probably goes beyond that. I can only imagine the amount of lonely women from the Superwholock fandom gooning to their endless chat with one of those boys. Or trannies living out AGP lesbian fantasies they can never get in real life. Etc. Etc.

The numbers are very obviously cooked, as I broke down below, but for the people who do end up this way its not just "loneliness" as the factor. Its people who are likely lonely for a reason and that root cause also leaving them willing to do things like this.