Out of Touch: How to Survive an Intimacy Famine

A behavioral scientist explores love, belongingness, and fulfillment, examining how modern technology affects our need to connect. These digital interactions may not satisfy our longing for deep physical connections. Pandemic isolation exacerbated this issue.

Professor Michelle Drouin investigates our “intimacy famine”. She argues that while social media provides dopamine hits, in-person relationships offer oxytocin-rich intimacy. Drouin distinguishes intimacy from sex, noting that millennials may have less sex than previous generations. She discusses pandemic puppies, professional cuddlers, touch’s importance, “desire discrepancy” in marriage, and friendships. Online dating might offer too many options, while the internet facilitates infidelity-related behaviors. This book explores the human relationship with technology, for better an for worse.

(This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)