You scratch my back, I'll — pay you for it

Professional back scratching is now a thing.

Why it matters: What was once a private gesture between partners or parents is becoming a paid service — a sign of how many Americans are seeking human touch and connection amid growing loneliness and isolation.

Catch up quick: The viral TikTok and YouTube videos from Miami's Scratcher Girls helped the niche take off.

Now, similar services are popping up from New Jersey to Los Angeles.

How it works: Scratcher Girls use their long nails to trace and scratch backs, scalps, arms and legs.

Sessions can include calming sounds and affirmations, ranging from a clothed 15-minute chair massage outside ($15) to a one-hour, full-body scratch in a private studio ($130).

Yes, but: Scratchers claim their work releases mood-boosting neurotransmitters, but "there's no research" that proves scratching's health benefits, according to Tiffany Field, professor and director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

And unlike massage therapists, scratchers aren't required to be certified (though Scratcher Girls has its own certification program).

Between the lines: Field's data shows that moderate-pressure massage can lead to lower cortisol, more serotonin, slower heart rate and better sleep.

Light-pressure massage didn't have the same effects.

"I wouldn't say it doesn't work," she tells Axios.

Axios Miami's Martin Vassolo tried it and said it gave him a "nice tingling sensation."

Other clients have slept, cried and vowed to return for more relaxation.

"Psychologically," Field says, it could be "very relaxing, because it's reminiscent of an early childhood pleasurable experience."

The bottom line: Back scratching may lack scientific proof, but it's tapping into real demand for intimacy in a touch-starved society.