Touch Test

Of the five senses -- sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch -- the last one is the most personal. It's all about who is touching what, whom, where, when, why and how.

Have our attitudes towards touch changed over time, especially in the light of the recent MeToo movement? Are everyone now more sensitive and circumspect in this matter?

A worldwide online survey based on an elaborate questionnaire is currently on to understand the way people across various categories -- like nationality, gender, sexuality, age, profession, disability etc -- view physical contact, be it accidental or intentional.

The study, called Touch Test Project, is a partnership between BBC Radio 4 and Wellcome Collection, which has commissioned the project from psychologists at Goldsmiths, University of London.

This elaborate study seeks to understand how touch might be not only linked to our health and well-being but also our association with partners and medical practitioners, and even the way we think about our own bodies. It also covers how technology has affected our attitudes towards touch.

The project, which went live on January 21, will run for a few months; and the results will be announced at a live event at Wellcome Collection in the autumn. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service.

I completed the survey yesterday.

It might take up to an hour to complete it (depending on the speed with which you read the questions and answer them), but you need not do it all in one sitting. You can stop and resume within seven days, but on the same browser on the same computer. I did it over two days.

I guess if more people take part, more accurate the survey results will be. To take part in the survey, go to touchtest.org. May be you should check it out. It's totally anonymous, and no personal details are collected.