Touch-Our First Form of Communication Hijacked
Why this can’t be the “New Normal.”
How important is a compassionate or friendly touch in current society?
The clasp of a handshake or a friendly pat on the back. What do these simple gestures say to most people?
They tell us that a firm handshake is welcoming and that a pat on the back is a sign that you are part of a group or team. These are things we crave, so they are not only necessary but vital.
Touch is one of our primary forms of communication. With a touch, we can communicate passion, kindness, love the list goes on. We could lose the ability to comfort. With a caring embrace, we can even help people heal from trauma. We offer congratulations, promote sportsmanship, or we can fall in love.
Touch is the first sense we acquire, and we use it every day, according to Tiffany Field, the head of Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, saying, “We instinctively use touch as a language.”
Most people don’t think about how frequently we use touch as a form of communication, and what it means not to be able to do that, as the first language we learn, it’s second nature to touch.
Now think about all of the times you have used touch as a form of communication. Unless you are living a life of complete solitude, you likely touch at least three people a day that are total strangers, you’re Barista, a new business contact, your doorman, or your child’s teacher.
There are five different kinds of healthy touch, and they consist of both emotional and non-emotional.
- Professional/non-emotional
- Social/traditionally non-emotional
- Friendship/Compassion-emotional
- Love/Intimacy-emotional
- Sexual/Arousal-emotional
Emotional touch is described as touch that evokes feelings or memories, and nonemotional touch traditionally does not elicit an emotion. If you are at a funeral and you are given a hug or someone holds your hand, it’s most likely to be intended as emotional touch. Nonemotional contact would be someone placing a cup of tea in your hand or fixing your tie; these actions do not involve emotion.
What are the benefits of touch in society?
- Infants and toddlers- it’s a well-established fact that children who are held and touched by their parents or a caregiver are both physically healthier and have better cognitive development.
- Adolescents/Teens- perform better in school, athletics, and have better eating and sleeping patterns.
- Adults- have fewer events of mental illness, such as depression they also have higher self-confidence, they perform better at their jobs and have healthy social lives
- Athletes- professional athletes perform better when congratulations and victories are celebrated with a pat on the rear, high fives and, the famous bear hug.
- Seniors- heal faster from illnesses, are more social and active
- Business- touching in the workplace, when kept within the guidelines of professional conduct, can be extremely useful in business.
“To touch is to give life.” — Michelangelo
If touch becomes a matter of life and death, what will this mean for our future as a society?
This is a question that we cannot answer because all of this is new, and we have no idea how it is going to pan out. However, studies on touch as it relates to healthy relationships indicate that it will hurt society as a whole. I would suspect that children, seniors, and individuals with special needs will be at risk the most, as they are the most dependant on touch.
What will it mean for them? How will they adapt to something that we as a country have not had to contend with in mine or my parent generations?
There are several questions to be asked about how this will impact society as a whole and what it means. As of yet, we haven’t gotten any definitive answers. I believe in time; we will adjust as a society if this is our “new normal” as they say. However, the impact from lack of touch will be revealed, without doubt, years from now.
