One of the collateral problems arising from the covid-19 pandemic is the fact that the distancing dramatically reduces opportunities to experience touch with other humans, as for instance, V (the artist formerly known as Eve Ensler) has pointed out in the Guardian recently (I really liked her suggestion that all the mad female grooming culture is just serving as an excuse to get a regular dosis of gentle touching).
See also this feature in Wired magazine on skin hunger.
Even before this pandemic, some have argued that western societies were becoming more touch averse and that this was having a negative impact on our mental health, as I reported in my feature from last April, which is now in the open archives. With distancing measures likely to remain necessary for months if not years, one can imagine that these problems will become even more serious.
Are we losing touch with our world?
The human sense of touch is important for well-being, but current trends in society tend to discourage touching behaviours. (Photo: andreas160578/Pixabay.)
No comments:
Post a Comment