472: Touch and Trust in our virtual world

As physical distancing and isolation continues, we're saturated with information and interaction on screens big and small, often several screens at once, and All. Day. Long. We've become desperate for tactile, analogue things: Witness the breadmaking phenomenon on social media. Or how so many of us are really, really into caring for our plants.People are sewing. Or doing physical, old-fashioned puzzles. For the first few weeks there was a different energy of connecting in a new way. Much of our day was spent in video conferences with colleagues, and then our evenings were spent on even more video conferencing platforms! Chatting with family, having virtual parties with friends, or joining hard-to-hear trivia games with glitchy hosts. Now into the second month, some of us look at our laptops and phones with exhaustion. So this week, we're looking at ways to help us survive in an world where everything has become virtual, but so many of us are craving touch. + Neuroscientist Victoria Abraira explains why touch is so important to us as social beings and how our relationship to it might change because of the coronavirus pandemic. + Professor of Ophthalmology Christine Law talks about the impact of screen time on eye health, and offers tips for managing eye strain in this screen-intensive time. + Behavioural scientist Juliana Schroeder shares research into staying online in a healthy way. She also explains how we build trust in online communication.