Long before we found ourselves facing today’s imposed physical distancing, loneliness had been identified as a mounting public health threat in America. A 2018 international survey conducted by The Kaiser Family Foundation, in partnership with The Economist, found that “more than a fifth of adults in the United States (22 percent) and the United Kingdom (23 percent), as well as one in ten adults (nine percent) in Japan, say they often or always feel lonely, feel that they lack companionship, feel left out, or feel isolated from others. Read more.

As the world continues to work tirelessly through the pandemic, physical distancing has suddenly forced us to confront the shortcomings of the tools we use to cultivate human connection and creativity. Seeking to thrive in a future where digital interaction will be deeply embedded into our personal lives and work, members of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Virtual and Augmented Reality came together in a virtual keynote to discuss the mindset shifts necessary to spark creativity in the future. Read more.

Incorporating touch into our digital communications could not only help mitigate the effects of skin hunger, but hopefully allow human bonding even when physically apart. Holding hands with a loved one is much more than the simple perception of palm against palm — it is a reminder that touch holds emotion and power. Read more.