Paper short abstract:

It has often been emphasized that digitalization has fundamental effects on the sense of touch. Our paper aims to reconstruct the historical and sociological conditions of social interactions in relation to digital media. A particular focus is on the aspect of “mediated social touch”.

Paper long abstract:

Even though digitalization has shifted many social processes and interactions to a virtual level, physical "social" contact retains a peculiar significance. Sociologically (i.e. in terms of social theory), interaction is primarily communication. As a rule, this occurs without any haptic-based contact at all. However, it is undisputed that "social" touch plays an important role as a very specific form of haptics.

Various trends can be observed that realize or address haptic experiences in digital interaction spaces. With advancing developments in VR and AR, interest is growing in technologies that can simulate tactile experiences in order to create more immersive experiences. However, even before VR and AR, digitalization has led to the development of haptic technologies, such as haptic feedback systems in smartphones and game consoles, which attempt to recreate the feeling of physical touch in digital environments. It is completely unclear whether there is a longing for real, physical contact and whether touch can serve as a counterbalance to virtual exchange and satisfy the need for "real" experiences.

The "digital transformation" has put "social touch" back on the agenda of sociological interaction research and theory. Can interaction as a social relationship do without forms of haptic-based contacts? Is the need for "social touch" increasing due to the increase of interactions in digital "touch-free" spaces? And where does social touch actually take place? In the virtual space ("figurative") or in the physical space of action of the human actor ("literal")?