Carey Jewitt, Sara Price, Kerstin Leder Mackley, Nikoleta Yiannoutsou, Douglas Atkinson (2025). Interdisciplinary Insights for Digital Touch Communication

The reviewed book explores the growing field of digital touch communication, emphasizing its social, technological, and ethical implications.Published by Springer in 2025, this book is part of the Human-Computer Interaction Series and is a product of the InTouch project.The authors provide an in-depth analysis of how digital touch is transforming human interaction, focusing on emerging technologies such as virtual reality (VR), haptics, and sensor-based communication (pp.1-6).As digital communication evolves beyond traditional visual and auditory modalities, the book argues that touch is becoming a critical element of interaction.The authors highlight how advancements in haptic feedback, remote touch, and multisensory communication are reshaping human experiences across different fields, from healthcare to virtual collaboration.This perspective situates the book within a broader discussion on the future of human-computer interaction and its societal impacts.This review evaluates the book's structure, key arguments, and contributions to the field.It assesses how effectively the authors present their interdisciplinary approach and whether the book successfully bridges the gap between theoretical exploration and practical application.Additionally, the review considers the book's relevance to academics, designers, and policymakers interested in the ethical dimensions of digital touch communication.The book is organized into eight chapters, beginning with an introduction to digital touch communication.The first chapter establishes the significance of touch in human communication and its transition to the digital realm.The authors introduce key concepts such as "digital touch," "haptic communication," and "remote tactile interaction" (pp.1-6).These foundational ideas set the stage for understanding how touch-based interactions have evolved from direct physical contact to technologically mediated experiences, providing a framework for the discussions in subsequent chapters.The second chapter discusses interdisciplinary approaches to studying digital touch, highlighting the multimodal and sensory methodologies employed in research (pp.23-35).The authors emphasize the need for interdisciplinary