Are we really in an intimacy famine?
Dr. Michelle Drouin It sounds dire, but potentially, yes. Many of us are not going to work in the offices that provided us with exposure to people with whom we shared social, emotional and intellectual intimacy. We are not even smiling at people, because our smiles are disguised by masks [due to the pandemic]. The smile that we give another human could be a type of emotional intimacy for them, or a connection to a world that is happy and good, where people are supportive of each other.
When we get home, our children, our partners, whomever is at our house, might be threats to us. We have something called the behavioural immune system, which was studied before the pandemic, that says our bodies have a natural tendency to avoid potential pathogens. If we think someone is sick, we physically back away from them. It’s basically a turnoff when we know someone could be a threat to our physical well-being. Prior to the pandemic, studies pointed to changes in our intimacy levels. A 2019 study I worked on with family scientist Brandon McDaniel found that 72% of couples felt a ‘technoference’ in their relationship.
Millions of people are lonely worldwide – one study reports prevalence rates of one in every five adults in the US and the UK, and one in 10 in Japan – and loneliness has a profound, negative effect on mental and physical health. Are we in an intimacy famine? I think so. We are at a place where it is harder to have intimacy than ever before.
Does this mean that around the globe, humans are becoming less intimate?
この記事は Very Interesting の May/June 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Very Interesting の May/June 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
TAKE IT SLOW
Slow running is a fitness trend with some hard and fast science behind it
Physics, AI and music share a common thread. You just have to know where to look
Studying science can lead you in many directions and open doors to unexpected possibilities along the way
BED BUGS VS THE WORLD
When bloodthirsty bed bugs made headlines for infesting Paris Fashion Week in 2023, it shone a spotlight on a problem that's been making experts itch for decades: the arms race going on between bed bugs and humans
Kids are the key to understanding obesity. But we need more of their genes...
We can unravel the role that bodyweight plays in disease, but we need a bigger, more diverse, sample of genetic material to do so
COVID inquiry: What did we learn and what can we do better in future pandemics?
Masks, social distancing, lockdowns... how effective was the UK's response to the COVID-19 pandemic?
One hormone could be the key that unlocks a cure for morning sickness
The nausea and vomiting that, in extreme cases, can endanger mothers and babies might soon be just a memory
THE WORLD'S WEIRDEST CREATURES
Under the sea and upon the land, some animals look - to us - pretty strange...
WHEN MIND AND MACHINE COLLIDE
First, Elon Musk wanted to make electric cars ubiquitous, then he wanted to make space exploration a private enterprise. Now, with Neuralink, his newest venture, Musk hopes to merge humans and artificial intelligence. Turns out, it might not be such a crazy idea...
COME OUT OF YOUR SHELL
Social anxiety is more than just being shy. It's a phobia born out of our evolutionary past. But that raises a puzzling question: why do so many of us fear human interaction when we're supposed to be the most sociable species on the planet?
SPACE ODDITIES
Take a tour of the weirdest spots in the universe, where the 'normal' rules don't apply. Places that squeeze time, blow bubbles and even rain glass... sideways