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Tracking changes in touch desire and touch avoidance before and after the COVID-19 outbreak
Yusuke Ujitoko1, Takumi Yokosaka1, Yuki Ban2
1NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Atsugi, Japan.
Frontiers in Psychology
|December 19, 2022
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic increased desire for human and pet touch, revealing widespread "skin hunger" due to social distancing. Avoidance of touching everyday objects initially rose but later decreased.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Touch is crucial for well-being, social bonding, and survival.
- The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated social distancing, leading to reduced physical contact and potential isolation.
- This dissociation from touch has raised concerns about mental and physical health impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human attitudes towards touch.
- To analyze changes in the desire for and avoidance of touching animate and inanimate objects.
- To identify the emergence of
- skin hunger
- as a public health concern.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of large-scale Japanese Twitter data spanning 8 years.
- Utilized difference-in-differences estimation to assess the COVID-19 outbreak's impact.
- Examined shifts in user desire and avoidance related to touching various targets.
Main Results:
- A significant increase in the desire to touch human bodies and pets was observed post-COVID-19 outbreak.
- Avoidance of touching everyday objects (e.g., doorknobs, money) initially increased but subsequently returned to pre-pandemic levels.
- Findings indicate a shift in human touch behavior and a potential decrease in infection control awareness over time.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly altered human touch behaviors, increasing the desire for social and companion touch.
- The study highlights
- skin hunger
- as a significant consequence of social distancing measures.
- There is a need to address the psychological effects of reduced touch and monitor evolving infection control awareness.
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