Gadgets absorb all the attention of modern people. We bump into them not only on the way to work, but also while sitting in a cafe with friends. Psychologist Tiffany Field is sounding the alarm: people who are passionate about smartphones stop touching each other and endanger physical and mental health.
From the moment of conception until late in life, touch plays an important role in human development, physical and mental well-being. Modern research on physical contact shows the importance of touch for early development, communication, personal relationships, and resistance to disease.
Despite the clear therapeutic benefits of touch, the isolating influence of smartphones and computers is causing people to interact less with each other. Tiffany Field has been on the subject for over forty years. Last year, she traveled to different airports and observed the interactions between people. As a result, the specialist found that people stopped touching each other, all their attention was absorbed by smartphones. She says, “I think social media is killing touch. Focusing on the phone physically separates people from each other. They used to hug at airports and doze on top of each other. Now they don’t touch at all.»
The science of touch came of age in the mid-90s. At this time, Tiffany Field, along with a colleague, went to Romania to observe children from shelters where there were not enough staff. Such children experienced sensory deprivation, that is, a lack of physical contact.
Scientists have found different types of developmental delays associated with a lack of touch in the wards of shelters in Romania. Outwardly, they resembled autistics, were two times shorter and weighed half as much as their peers growing up in families. There were one or two adults for every 20 children in the orphanage, so no one was getting the touch they needed. That is why, despite good nutrition, they lagged behind their peers in growth and weight gain.
Of course, the case of the Romanian shelter is one of the extreme ones. In addition, Tiffany Field, along with colleagues, watched children from ordinary families. In particular, scientists compared children from Paris with children from Miami. They watched preschoolers at playgrounds and teenagers at McDonald’s.
Experts have noticed that in Paris, parents are much more likely to touch preschoolers than in Miami. This feature is reflected in adolescence. Scientists have observed how teenagers interact with each other, and noticed that young people from Paris are much more likely to touch friends, hug or pat them on the shoulder. In addition, French teenagers were generally less aggressive than American peers, both physically and verbally.
Touch strengthens the immune system and helps to cope with stress
Parents should touch their children as often as possible, since they do not receive the necessary physical contact at school. Even when spending time with friends, each of them constantly looks at the phone.
Physical contact may vary. You can hold hands, pat on the shoulder, hug, snuggle up to each other. The mild pressure that comes from hugging slows your heart rate and lowers your blood pressure. In the human brain at this time, theta waves are activated, which correspond to a state of relaxation. Touch is important not only for children’s development. In adulthood, they help strengthen the immune system and cope with stress. In one experiment, people were infected with the common cold virus. Participants who cuddled more often recovered faster from the disease.
Studies in the field of stress show that it is worth hugging a loved one before an exciting event. If you need to speak in front of an audience or pass an exam, hug your other half and achieve better results.