ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Abstract In this paper, we review research and applica-tions in the area of mediated or remote social touch. Whereas current communication media rely predomi-nately on vision and hearing, mediated social touch al-lows people to touch each other over a distance by means of haptic feedback technology. Overall, the re-viewed applications have interesting potential, such as the communication of simple ideas (e.g., through Hapticons), establishing a feeling of connectedness be-tween distant lovers, or the recovery from stress. How-ever, the beneficial effects of mediated social touch are usually only assumed and have not yet been submitted to empirical scrutiny. Based on social psychological lit-erature on touch, communication, and the effects of media, we assess the current research and design efforts and propose future directions for the field of mediated social touch