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There are volumes and volumes of research demonstrating how crucial touch is to our development and ongoing mental health. Studies have linked shared touch to stress reduction, strengthening of the immune system, neurological development in the brain, the ability to form emotional connections, pain reduction, and a host of other both physiological and psychological phenomena. Again and again research has shown that affectionate touch plays a powerful role in our overall health and development.
Research is also showing that trends towards technology and away from human contact are having greater and greater impact on our health at a societal level. Our devices offer us access to unprecedented amounts of information and opportunities to form vast networks of virtual connections but all that information brings with it a new form of stress and anxiety. Plus spending more time with our devices and virtual connections means spending more time with the source of that stress and less time our most powerful tool for combating feelings of isolation and anxiety.
On a more ideological level our efforts to become more aware and mindful of consent and personal comfort are important and valuable but they…