Dialing out: A study on overcoming loneliness through call and touch

Abstract

Abstract As a social species, humans deprived of contact find loneliness a distressing and difficult condition. Recent research emphasises the influence of touch on alleviating loneliness. This research found touch reduces feelings of neglect, a subscale of loneliness. Affectionate touch, which demonstrates care or affection has been previously linked to wellbeing in couples. Here, we investigated whether the effect of simulated touch during a video conversation might be sufficient to influence feelings of loneliness. Sixty participants answered a survey about their home life and relationships, including items that assessed frequency of touch and feelings of loneliness. Following this, they participated in an online video call with three conditions: audio only, audio and video, or audio, video with ‘touch’ (a virtual ‘high-five’). Finally, immediately after the call, they completed a further brief survey including another measure of loneliness. We found that loneliness scores were reduced following the call, but there was no difference among conditions and no effect of a virtual touch However, we did find a significant association between the frequency of touch in a relationship and expression of loneliness, with individuals in low touch relationships having loneliness scores more comparable to single participants than to those in high touch relationships. Additionally, extraversion played a major role in moderating the effect of touch in relationships. These results emphasize the importance of physical contact in lowering feelings of loneliness within relationships, as well as the ability of calls to lower feelings of loneliness, regardless of whether they include video or ‘virtual touch’.