7 ms·

Is It Farewell to the Handshake?

8 points by NaOH 6y ago

adrianN 6y ago
At least in my social circle, the handshake was pretty much extinct long before covid.
- nsxwolf 6y ago
  With my friends it's all about the exploding fist.
  - 1propionyl 6y ago
    I would love to see the classic "up, down, false shake, pull back, exploding fist" become the standard used by world leaders and diplomats. (If there's a name for this I don't know it, but hopefully it's recognizable enough to at least US readers.)
  - jhoechtl 6y ago
    I am not-native englisch speaking. What does "exploding" mean in the context of a salutation?
    - pjmlp 6y ago
      Not the OP, maybe related to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist A very famous computer game back in the all those Kung-Fu movies heyday.
    - JiBB 6y ago
      You bump your fists together, and then spread your fingers apart as you pull your hand back, as if your fist is "exploding" outward. A few gif examples: https://gph.is/g/aK8Yww6 https://gph.is/g/aK8Yww6 https://gph.is/2q6aAIV https://gph.is/2q6aAIV https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-02-13/gif-day-obamas-exploding-fist-bump-state-union https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-02-13/gif-day-obamas-explod...
      - poisonborz 6y ago
        Also known as "Potato, fries" in germanic culture.
        nsxwolf 6y ago
        This is wonderful.
mongol 6y ago
I am quite sure it will be back. Give it a few years.
function_seven 6y ago
While the "I'm not hiding a knife" theory turns out to probably be wrong, I think I'm going to Betteridge this headline, and say No. The handshake is going to come back in full force in about a year, and partly due to that apocryphal reason. ("There's no more contagion, here, let's demonstrate...") People actually like shaking hands. It's a quick ritual that's easily begins many interactions. When the pandemic has ceased, people are going to go full force in all sorts of activities that they were denied, even if they didn't participate all that much prior to 2020. I saw maybe 2 movies a year prior to last year. I can totally see making it a monthly thing once theaters open back up. Dining out, gym attendance, in-person business meetings. I think these things are going to surge more than people realize (though not always above the pre-2020 levels.) One thing we all discovered during the pandemic is how many jobs actually can be done from home. Many of us already knew it, but it took the virus to convince a lot of management as well (unless you're Spectrum/Charter). But I think another thing we discovered is that working from home is not all roses and sunshine. A lot of people sorely miss the office environment and interactions that took place there. They're going to jump at the opportunities to return to the office. So back to the handshake. It's going to come back. People will use it as a reminder that Things Are Normal now. Hand sanitizer use will be more widespread, though. And I think face masks for those with a cold—at least in "blue states".
lloydatkinson 6y ago
I sure hope so. Maybe in less hygiene aware countries like the US, but I think countries that took the pandemic seriously will not bring it back as much.
- viklove 6y ago
  > Maybe in less hygiene aware countries like the US What drove you to make such a spiteful, bigoted, nationalistic comment such as this?
- dang 6y ago
  Please keep nationalistic flamebait off HN. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  - lloydatkinson 6y ago
    I'm sorry that you see scientific facts as "nationalistic".
FreshFries 6y ago
Yeah, not im my circles. Being old comes with quirkinesses and one of these is the _need_ to handshake. We have build relations based on it, we've made deals based on it and made up based on it. Surely it was a little less during the initial days of this pandemic, but it is all but gone now.
- mercer 6y ago
  all the old people around here flagrantly disregarding the covid rules is definitely something that has soured the perspective younger people around here, who do observe the rules, have of the elderly. every time I go shopping or to the market I end up feeling like punching some old people in the face because they're not wearing masks and having chats 1 meter or less apart. meanwhile my younger siblings are struggling because they can't go to their high school or college. Fucking boomers.

8 points by NaOH 6y ago

adrianN 6y ago

At least in my social circle, the handshake was pretty much extinct long before covid.

nsxwolf 6y ago
With my friends it's all about the exploding fist.
- 1propionyl 6y ago
  I would love to see the classic "up, down, false shake, pull back, exploding fist" become the standard used by world leaders and diplomats. (If there's a name for this I don't know it, but hopefully it's recognizable enough to at least US readers.)
- jhoechtl 6y ago
  I am not-native englisch speaking. What does "exploding" mean in the context of a salutation?
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    Not the OP, maybe related to this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Exploding_Fist A very famous computer game back in the all those Kung-Fu movies heyday.
  - JiBB 6y ago
    You bump your fists together, and then spread your fingers apart as you pull your hand back, as if your fist is "exploding" outward. A few gif examples: https://gph.is/g/aK8Yww6 https://gph.is/g/aK8Yww6 https://gph.is/2q6aAIV https://gph.is/2q6aAIV https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-02-13/gif-day-obamas-exploding-fist-bump-state-union https://www.pri.org/stories/2013-02-13/gif-day-obamas-explod...
    - poisonborz 6y ago
      Also known as "Potato, fries" in germanic culture.
      - nsxwolf 6y ago
        This is wonderful.

mongol 6y ago

I am quite sure it will be back. Give it a few years.

function_seven 6y ago

While the "I'm not hiding a knife" theory turns out to probably be wrong, I think I'm going to Betteridge this headline, and say No. The handshake is going to come back in full force in about a year, and partly due to that apocryphal reason. ("There's no more contagion, here, let's demonstrate...") People actually like shaking hands. It's a quick ritual that's easily begins many interactions. When the pandemic has ceased, people are going to go full force in all sorts of activities that they were denied, even if they didn't participate all that much prior to 2020. I saw maybe 2 movies a year prior to last year. I can totally see making it a monthly thing once theaters open back up. Dining out, gym attendance, in-person business meetings. I think these things are going to surge more than people realize (though not always above the pre-2020 levels.) One thing we all discovered during the pandemic is how many jobs actually can be done from home. Many of us already knew it, but it took the virus to convince a lot of management as well (unless you're Spectrum/Charter). But I think another thing we discovered is that working from home is not all roses and sunshine. A lot of people sorely miss the office environment and interactions that took place there. They're going to jump at the opportunities to return to the office. So back to the handshake. It's going to come back. People will use it as a reminder that Things Are Normal now. Hand sanitizer use will be more widespread, though. And I think face masks for those with a cold—at least in "blue states".

lloydatkinson 6y ago

I sure hope so. Maybe in less hygiene aware countries like the US, but I think countries that took the pandemic seriously will not bring it back as much.

viklove 6y ago
> Maybe in less hygiene aware countries like the US What drove you to make such a spiteful, bigoted, nationalistic comment such as this?
dang 6y ago
Please keep nationalistic flamebait off HN. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- lloydatkinson 6y ago
  I'm sorry that you see scientific facts as "nationalistic".

FreshFries 6y ago

Yeah, not im my circles. Being old comes with quirkinesses and one of these is the _need_ to handshake. We have build relations based on it, we've made deals based on it and made up based on it. Surely it was a little less during the initial days of this pandemic, but it is all but gone now.

mercer 6y ago
all the old people around here flagrantly disregarding the covid rules is definitely something that has soured the perspective younger people around here, who do observe the rules, have of the elderly. every time I go shopping or to the market I end up feeling like punching some old people in the face because they're not wearing masks and having chats 1 meter or less apart. meanwhile my younger siblings are struggling because they can't go to their high school or college. Fucking boomers.