September 27, 2005
MAN, THE SOCIAL ANIMAL
Survey finds Canadians increasingly out of touch (Misty Harris, National Post, September, 2005)
Canadians are suffering from "touch deficit," with a third of the population regularly going an entire day without any human contact, according to a study released yesterday.Experts say an increased focus on social boundaries, changes in gender roles and greater reliance on electronic communication are making it harder than ever to reach out and touch someone.
"There has been a radical decrease in the amount of touch and obviously an increase in the touch deficit," says Patti Wood, an authority on nonverbal communication and spokeswoman for Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion. "There's fear or concern about what's an appropriate touch."
Conservatives are often accused of simply pandering to nostalgic impulses, but now, thanks to science, we have proof life really was better in the good old days when everyone pawed one another all day long.
Posted by Peter Burnet at September 27, 2005 7:09 PMAnd here I though Canuckistan was full of touchy feely types. Who knew, eh?
Posted by: obc at September 27, 2005 7:30 PMAnd here I though Canuckistan was full of touchy feely types. Who knew, eh?
Posted by: obc at September 27, 2005 7:31 PMGive Bill Clinton Canadian citizenship.
Send him on a listening tour.
End of 50 percent of the problem.
Posted by: John at September 27, 2005 8:20 PMIs there some federally mandated minimum daily allowance of touching? Who decides how much a given person needs? What happens to a person who is touch deficient?
When I am home on leave, as now, I often spend whole days not even speaking face to face with another person, let alone touching one. I don't live in rural America because I love being cheek by jowl with other humans. I can't even see my neighbors' houses from mine.
So, at the risk of looking like a boob, what's the big deal? Who says I have to touch people?
Posted by: Steve Skubinna![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://brothersjuddblog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 27, 2005 10:07 PM
Yet another reason to invade Canada.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at September 28, 2005 1:24 AMDo they live in hotel rooms? Are the drapes closed? Do they clip their toenails? Do retired CIA agents and Mormons deliver them food?
Posted by: David at September 28, 2005 2:12 AMWhenever you hear anything about Canada it is guaranteed to be only about Toronto and the idiots who live there.
Toronto is a cancer. Cut it out.
Posted by: Randall Voth at September 28, 2005 3:44 AMAnnex Alberta, BC, and the Yukon Territory, name the whole area Columbia, bringing us back to 49 states. Let Hawaii go its own way.
Posted by: erp at September 28, 2005 8:07 AMAh, come here and give me a hug, big guy.
Posted by: David Cohen at September 28, 2005 9:22 AMerp:
Are you sure you want to do that? It could have a terrible effect on the US's overall average touch deficit.
Posted by: Brit at September 28, 2005 9:35 AMI thought our provinces to the north were supposed to be more "European" than we here in the states, thus more sensitive, caring and interconnect toward one another?
Posted by: Dave W. at September 28, 2005 10:58 AMI know the article concerned physical human contact, which could be a function of English reticence, but I imagine that quite a few Canadians are isolated.
Canada has a population of 32.8 million living in a country larger than the continental U.S. That's a lotta room, even if much of it is close to uninhabitable.
Posted by: Ed Bush at September 28, 2005 10:59 AMNobody lives there any more, there's too many people.
Posted by: David Cohen at September 28, 2005 1:02 PMPlus it's about time for the annual Eastern Canadian migration to Florida. There must be RV parks whose entire winter income is in Canadian Dollars.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 28, 2005 2:35 PMWhen the residents of our new state of Columbia become Americans, they'll be doing high five's like crazy. From there who knows what other touching will ensue. Might even be a spike in the birth rate. The possibilities are endless..
Posted by: erp at September 28, 2005 3:52 PM