> In Western countries hand-shaking is limited almost exclusively to business

I can't speak for all Western countries, but in the US I shake hands with every new person I meet, whether in a professional or social settings. I'll also shake hands as a greeting for acquaintances I'm not close with. (As opposed to a hug for close acquaintances.)

Which city? This is not at all ordinary in my experience (at least in social settings - it’s normal in business settings).

Parent was probably referring to outgoing people who don't spend most of their time in the Internet.

It’s hugs or nothing, and hugs are only for family or good friends you haven’t seen in a while.

Might be an age/generational thing. At least my generation (20s and 30s) it’s definitely not commonly done outside of formal business meetings.

In my experience, the handshake-as-greeting between men in social situations is common in the Midwest US, at least.

Hot tip, if you’re in Japan and don’t want to shake hands right now. Bow first. I find people of Japan will shake hands to make you feel welcome if you don’t bow.

I just had a young doctor in a hospital shake my hand, I would say out if the important cultural need to be polite and pay respect to someone older. I don’t care or blame him even though I was surprised.

On a side note, I would say upwards of 75% of people in Tokyo are wearing masks

> On a side note, I would say upwards of 75% of people in Tokyo are wearing masks

I’d say more like 50%, but I think it used to be more, so now I wonder if everyone simply ran out...

Maybe it's not a big demographic on Hacker news (or non-US western countries either), but there's a lot of hand-shaking that goes in in churches. That was true in my church up until a few weeks ago.