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If there is someone with norrovirus at your party, then you have norrovirus. What they do with the dip is utterly irrelevant

I remember the mythbusters episode about double dipping where they found out that their control dip (one with zero dips performed) had just an insane amount of bacteria in it already, because bacteria is everywhere and a lot of it doesn't do much.

My rule of thumb is you only double dip with people you live with (if they're not grossed out about it). Under those conditions, chances are that whatever diseases they have will definitely be spread to you anyway via talking, sneezing, sharing the same bathroom or bedroom facilities etc. At public or other gatherings, don't double dip; it's the equivalent of standing over a bowl of food and open-mouthed breathing on it. Sure, the actual risk is probably not that high, but it's still gross. :P

In my area, we avoided the double dipping debacle entirely by providing some small plates to carry your own sauce. That way, you can even go so far to triple dipping or even quadruple dipping.

One significant vector at parties, particularly ones where people are talking loud and standing close is just HOW MUCH we spit when talking and that spit will inevitably land on the food you're holding and are about to eat. These droplets are also inhaled and land in your eyes and mouth directly. There were several studies during COVID which detailed this but I don't have the links handy.

I can say I only discovered the concept of double-dipping as an exchange student in the US, before (or after) that I had never heard or thought it was an issue or that it was gross.

Just normalize putting a portion of dip on your own plate by providing a spoon to scoop out!

I avoid it as a standard; though I do consider double dipping in the same ballpark as kissing, drinking from the same cup and so on -ie. stuff I absolutely don't do with random acquaintances and certainly not strangers.

The worst by far is the repulsive birthday cake-candle situation! Worsened by the fact that hardly anyone has dared to challenge it.

I only do it on my own food

That kind of video exposes a critical difference between Brazilian and American cultures. Here in Brazil, we have a great aversion to touching food with our hands. If we were to serve a "dip" on a gathering, we'd likely have a pâté knife to cover the chip with it.

if your concerned about the bacteria in the bowl after double dipping, but just cant get over the urge to not double dip, just use the OTHER side of the chip, the one you havent bitten into (note: this works better for french fries but ehh)

In northern Italy it is a common practice to pass around a large glass of wine to each party-goer to so they can each have a sip... I wonder how that tradition may change (if at all) in the coming years after the recent pandemic.

There's only three cases where I double dip. The first is if I'm the only one eating it (oh no I got my own germs). The second is if I'm only sharing with my family. The last is if it's a large enough item that I can turn around to dip again without any part that my mouth touched getting into it

This channel is usually so good about not spreading misinformation, but you really dropped the ball this time so I feel like I have to make a correction. At

The idea of consuming someone else's saliva just grosses me out, unless I'm okay with kissing that person😅

I feel like double dipping is frowned upon in western cultures is from gatherings of strangers. Most of the other examples you gave of transferring germs/bacteria are things that only happen between people friends and closer. Having the control over who you trust to keep clean is important and you lose that control at a party where people double dip. It also seems like such a small and easy thing to change so why not just avoid double dipping in those situations...

As the conclusion oberves - avoid double dipping simply because it's considered rude (in the US). There are more than enough germs already in the dip and on the chip that whatever the double dipper imparts is not significant.

for context, I'm 1st gen filipino American. i will never forget the time i asked my dad about double dipping (i was prompted by thinking about how we unashamedly normally shared the same bowl of vinegar for dipping food in).