Search This Blog

How often do we touch each day compared to time on email

As the National Spokesperson in Canada for Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion I worked with Vaseline on a touch research study. I have a few of the finding from the VICCL survey.

  • In total, 1502 adults were interviewed across Canada.
  • These interviews were conducted between August 2nd and August 7th, 2005.
  • With a sample size of 1502, results are considered accurate to within (+ or -) 2.5 % points, 19 times out of 20.

Here are a few of the findings...

The most interesting thing in this bit is that the average Canadian spends an average of 5 minutes a day touching and an average of 35 minutes in electronic communication. Hmmmm, e-mail just is not the same as a hug.

Daily Touching

  • On average, people have 8.9 separate incidences of touching each day.
  • People in Alberta touch the most (13.0), while those in the Maritimes and Quebec do so the least (7.8 each).
  • Older people are the less frequently touched (between 45-54 - 7.4, between 55-64 - 5.3, and 65+ 4.4).
  • Unmarried people are more likely to touch 2 or less times a day (38%), while married people touch 6 or more times a day (42%).

Daily Amount of Touch

  • More than half of Canadians spend less than five minutes a day engaged in touch (61%). This is particularly true of those over the age of 55 (71%).
  • The average amount of time touching is 7.4 minutes. This is consistent across the country.
  • Men are more likely than women to spend less than a minute touching (37% vs. 24% respectively).
  • Married people also spend more time touching (8.5 minutes vs. 5.6 minutes).

Daily Amount of TouchAverage Number of Minutes Spent on Touch / Daily Amount of Electronic Communication

  • Two-thirds of Canadians spend more than 10 minutes a day on electronic communication, with one third spending more than one hour.
  • 45% of people under 45 spend more than an hour a day on electronic communication.
  • The average amount of time spent on electronic communication is 33.5 minutes.
  • People in Alberta and B.C. spend the most time on electronic communication (an average of 40.7 and 37.3 minutes respectively).

If you want to hear more, I will be on "Breakfast Television" Canada's version of the Today Show Monday morning Feb 6 around 7:00 am talking about touch and the Vaseline Science of Touch exhibit.