It is totally unacceptable for men or women to touch each other inappropriately or sexually unless they are in a relationship of some sort, and after a certain age, it is inappropriate for boys to touch girls, except in very neutral or general ways. These norms differ in different cultures, and some cultures are much more closed about touching. For example, in our society, hugging is an accepted way to greet or say goodbye to someone, but in other cultures, that would be inappropriate, so norms differ throughout the world. These norms are established through culture and society. Each culture raises their children differently, so they learn tactile communication differently. Some cultures are extremely open to touching and non-verbal communication, while others are more reserved. In addition, in any culture, there can be people who are non-tactile, and do not like being touched. The norms for these individuals can be very different from the cultural norms around them. These people avoid touch, even if it is common in their society. Another group uses tactile communication as an even more important means of communication, and...

The deaf use sign language, often spelled out in their hand, and so do the blind, along with reading Braille with their fingertips. For them, their entire world may be tactile throughout their lives, so it becomes even more important to understand the relevance of tactile communication.
In conclusion, tactile communication plays an important role in our lives, whether we recognize it or not. Just try to go a day without touching another person or animal in one way or another. It would be very hard to do, which shows how important it really is.

References

Andersen, P.A. (2005). The touch avoidance measure. In the sourcebook of nonverbal measures: Going beyond words, Manusov, V. (Ed.) (pp. 57-63). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Andersen, P.A., & Guerrero, L.K. (2005). Measuring live tactile interaction: The body chart coding approach. In the sourcebook of nonverbal measures: Going beyond words, Manusov, V. (Ed.) (pp. 83-91). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.