Interpersonal Affective Touch in a Virtual World: Feeling the Social Presence of Others to Overcome Loneliness.

ABSTRACT: Humans are by nature social beings tuned to communicate and interact from the very beginning of their lives. The sense of touch represents the most direct and intimate channel of communication and a powerful means of connection between the self and the others. In our digital age, the development and diffusion of internet-based technologies and virtual environments offer new opportunities of communication overcoming physical distance. It however, happens that social interactions are often mediated, and the tactile aspects of communication are overlooked, thus diminishing the feeling of social presence, which may contribute to an increased sense of social disconnection and loneliness. The current manuscript aims to review the extant literature about the socio-affective dimension of touch and

SUBMITTER: Della Longa L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8787079 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature