When this virus crisis ends do you think we'll be less of a huggy kissy nation

[LaureBerthaud]

I always cringe when I see Brits try to do the kiss on both cheeks thing - it doesn't come naturally to us like, say, the French. And whilst I'm affectionate with DH, DC and the dog, I don't like hugging or kissing extended family/friends/randoms.

Do you think us less tactile people will have an excuse to keep our distance once this crisis is over or will the huggers be desperate to resume their hugging?

Honestly I don’t think we are a huggy kissy nation at all.
I hate physical contact like that from anyone other than very close family but the only time i can think of where I’ve actually been put in the situation of having to hug and kiss someone is when my DH’s best friend married an Eastern European. She was very tactile!

Maybe. It did reveal that majority of people seem to be pigs who don't wash hands after toilet. Then they touch their face, clothes, hair. 😷

I do hope so. There’s a bit of a culture where I work for doing that. I cringe myself inside out every time. It’s been bloody bliss this last few weeks.

Bit odd of you to presume what comes naturally to an entire nation

No I can't wait to hug my family again, we're all pretty tactile. Hand shaking on the other hand needs to become a thing of the past. Last year our school decided it would be a good idea to welcome every child with a handshake every morning . This was before Corona but not before the school having to shut the previous year due to norovirus and flu outbreak. I pretty much never contact the school about anything but wrote a strongly worded email expressing my thoughts, thankfully my own child's teacher never did it but really what were they thinking? I literally cannot think of a better way of spreading germs.

I hope so I'm very much a quick hand raise and nod person

I'm another one who doesn't like all this huggy kissy stuff with people outside the family, so I would be happy to go back to the old, more formal ways.

Its an interesting question OP..I don;t know the answer but I do think after this all ends many people will struggle with residual mental health issues.I also have a feeling it will be difficult to have trust that we can go about our daily business as before without questioning in the back of our mind as to if we really are safe.I do not think when lock down is fully removed joyous throngs of crowds of people will gleefully be dancing in the street...I suspect a more catious return to normality..many people will still be unsure and possibly frightened.

Nope, us huggers are desperate to come hug you all 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

Actually I am very tactile, but I do try to be aware of who is & who isn't amongst my family & friends as I know it's horrible being hugged when you don't want to be.

I hate hand shaking though, so if that stops I'll be happy. Though I'm pretty good at avoiding it anyway.

I hope so. I bloody hate unwarranted contact.

If it removes the kiss greeting from the workplace, I’m all for it.

I hope so!

I hope so, I loathe hugging and kissing.

I actually quite like hand shaking, more formal yet still making contact. Are you my boss Amelie?, when I started a new job she came to meet me (we don’t physically work in the same place), I greeted her with a hand shake, she looked horrified.

I don't think we are a very huggy, kissy nation. However the weekend before lockdown I met up with friends for a meal and we didn't hug/kiss when we met and said goodbye as usual - it did feel strange.

I think it will take a while to get back to normal after all this.

If it removes the kiss greeting from the workplace, I’m all for it

Where do you work?!

Thank god 😂

and the dog

I'm with you there!

I cringe when watching tv and the presenter introduces the guest and there's that awkward kiss but they don't know whether it's going to be on one cheek or both and which cheek to go for first. FIL tried this with me once and we ended up bumping noses and lips

Oh god I hope so! It wouldn’t be so bad if we had a proper system like some European countries but it’s a mish mash of things here and that makes it so awkward and cringe. I never know whether to hug/kiss or not and is it one or two? Embarrassing.

God, let's hope so.
I'm quite comfortable kissing friends and family hello and goodbye, but it's become so prevalent now, that it can seem as a snub if you don't head straight on in to someone you barely know.

I hope so too!

And if you're going in for a hug do you give a peck on cheek first, then hug or just hug? This is clearly a dilemma I share with newish step-MIL who I think shares my mortification at having married into such a tactile family. When we last said goodbye I ended up kissing her ear as she was bypassing the kiss and going for the hug.

God, I wish I were French.

I'm not a hugger at all, dont even like shaking hands, but for the last few days I've wanted to go back to work and hug everyone.
Both of which are not like me at all. Probably wont hug people though, that would be proper weird after all this social distancing

Ooh I do hope so, I hate being touched by anyone other than very close friend and family. A handshake is acceptable from most people, a non-touching nod even better!

The thing is, we’ve not had to change these things like hugging and kissing have we? It’s more that we’re not actually seeing the people we might hug and kiss like extended family and friends.
I know people are standing further away in the supermarket now but it’s not like I interacted with strangers in the supermarket anyway.