How to Stay Connected While Social Distancing
Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, being forced to social distance can bring up a lot of anxiety. We humans are social animals, and a lack of social connection, especially during difficult situations, can be tough on us.
Fortunately, thanks to technology, there are a lot of ways to stay connected with your friends and family. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of social connection during challenging times, the available technology, and some ways to stay connected during social distancing.
The Importance of Social Connection During Difficult Times
Uncertainty brings anxiety, and there are few times in recent memory that have raised as much uncertainty as the COVID-19 pandemic. During times of stress and uncertainty, social connection is essential.
Studies have shown that socializing can improve your mood and reduce anxiety levels. Having a friend to talk to, even if it’s just in a virtual capacity, can help us feel anchored when everything else feels uncertain.
Of course, social distancing measures are necessary to contain the spread of the virus. But just because you’re physically isolated doesn’t mean you need to be socially isolated.
In fact, staying connected is more important than ever.
Available Technology for Staying Connected
If you’re reading this, chances are you have a smart device and a reliable internet connection, and that’s all you need to stay connected. Social media, instant messaging apps, video calling platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts, and even gaming apps and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, can all be great ways to connect with your loved ones.
It’s also important to remember that this pandemic won’t last forever. While we don’t know exactly how long we’ll need to practice social distancing, we do know that it won’t be forever.
In the meantime, though, we need to be patient and find ways to stay connected.
Zoom Parties as a Means to Stay Connected
With so many people working from home and relying on video conferencing for work, it’s no surprise that virtual parties have become popular. Zoom, in particular, has emerged as the platform of choice for virtual parties.
One of the best things about virtual parties is that you can socialize from the comfort of your own home. You don’t need to worry about getting dressed up or traveling, and you can even have your own private party, virtually inviting your friends and family members from all over the world.
Watching movies and having nightclub sessions via zoom is another way to enjoy virtual socializing. Everyone can be in their pajamas for casual movie nights, or you can even put on some dance music and host a virtual nightclub session to keep the party going!
Ease of Using Zoom for Socializing
If you haven’t used Zoom before, don’t worry – it’s easy to get started. The platform is available for Windows, Mac, and mobile devices, and there’s a free version that allows you to host virtual meetings for up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes.
You can also pay for premium features, like the ability to host longer meetings or to record meetings for later playback. Once you’ve downloaded the Zoom app, all you need to do is create an account and you’re ready to go.
You can schedule a meeting and invite others to join, or you can even start an impromptu meeting on the fly. The platform is designed to be user-friendly, and there are plenty of resources available if you need help getting started.
3) Utilizing WhatsApp groups for Enhanced Communication
In today’s digital age, WhatsApp is a popular and accessible app worldwide. It is often used for professional communication between colleagues and business partners.
However, it can also be an excellent platform for personal socializing. WhatsApp groups can help in connecting individuals with their friends and family members, allowing them to have constant communication and sharing of information, photos, videos and even funny memes.
Texting and voice messaging features on WhatsApp provide an alternative to traditional phone calls. It allows you to reach out to all the members of the group in a single message through a group chat or without sharing in a private chat.
Voice notes, particularly, can be a fun way to connect with your friends and family, giving messages a vocal touch. The excitement in hearing the voice of loved ones makes WhatsApp groups particularly useful for keeping in touch with family members and friends who might live far away.
A further advantage of using WhatsApp for socializing is that it is time-saving and efficient. You can instantly connect with all members of the group without the need for constant back and forth messages or call sessions, which can be tiring.
With WhatsApp, you can share photos and videos of life’s moments and significant events. From the birth of a child to a promotion at work, everything can be shared.
This saves time, and you get to stay in touch with friends and family members in spite of time zone differences. Using WhatsApp groups to stay connected with friends and family members can also be an excellent way to reinforce positive communication and interaction within your social circles.
It helps to foster more meaningful friendships and to enhance the overall connection with your loved ones. With WhatsApp groups, it’s easy to plan get-togethers and organize activities such as picnics, road trips, or baby showers.
The platform even allows polls and questionnaires that help to integrate a more lively and engaging conversation among group members.
4) Being More Active on Social Media for Social Connection
Over the past year, social media activity has increased across the globe. During a period of extended social distancing and isolation, it can be a helpful tool for staying connected to friends and socializing.
Social media is an excellent way to remain in touch with old friends, find new ones and rekindle lost relationships. Importantly, social media provides an avenue for human connection despite the current restrictions, and it can foster positive interactions.
By liking and commenting on friends’ posts, virtual connections are enabled, and positive interactions strengthen your friendship circles. Positive feedback from family and friends on updates, pictures, and posts are bound to lift spirits, as everyone navigates through these difficult times with their own unique stressors.
Moreover, social media platforms like Facebook have features that make it easy for you to stay in touch with friends and loved ones from different parts of the world. Asides from commenting and liking, Facebook also offers direct messaging to individuals and can connect you with groups that share common interests, hobbies, and opinions.
By joining such groups, new friendships can be established or existing ones strengthened and engagement keeps communication lines flowing. One of the significant advantages of using social media is that it offers the potential for rekindling old relationships that might have been forgotten.
With a few clicks, connections can be made, and conversations initiated, thereby creating positive outcomes in the form of rekindled friendships, and a strengthened sense of social connection. In conclusion, this pandemic period has magnified social isolation, causing people to seek alternative ways to connect with one another.
Social media and messaging apps such as WhatsApp offer ways to maintain relationships and connect with friends and family members even while distanced. By being more active on these platforms and connecting with old and new friends in a meaningful way, we can build our connection support systems and stay better connected in these trying times.
5) Netflix Parties as an Alternative to Face-to-Face Movie Nights
Netflix parties are fast becoming one of the most popular ways to watch movies with friends and family during this social distancing period. They are convenient, engaging, and increasingly accessible.
With Netflix parties, you get to invite your friends and family members to watch a movie with you, even if you’re not in the same room. One of the advantages of a Netflix party is that it offers group viewing, which allows for show discussion and sharing opinions.
During the movie, the members of the group can chat about the plot and characters, making the experience more interactive and enjoyable. Sharing jokes, reacting to suspenseful scenes, and asking questions together is part of the thrill of watching productions — and Netflix parties allow you to experience this with your loved ones.
The transparent chat window feature of Netflix parties lets you interact with other members of the group. This chat window makes it possible to discuss the plot of the movie, which is a vital part of the movie-watching experience for many people.
By sharing plot insights and opinions, you can cultivate a stronger sense of group bonding, something that can’t be easily achieved when watching a show alone. Engagement levels are often high during Netflix parties, making them a fantastic way to socialize in a pure and entertaining manner.
While using Zoom to watch a show or movie might seem easy, you will find limitations to the platform when trying to synchronize viewing. This lack of synchronization is an inherent limitation of Zoom, making it hard to watch programs without members experiencing lag.
In contrast, Netflix parties are designed for this kind of activity, and the streaming service delivers a smooth watching experience where everyone is connected and viewing the same scene simultaneously.
6) Using Houseparty for Interactive Virtual Gatherings
Houseparty is another app that’s become popular for interactive virtual gatherings. The app lets you join different rooms and throw virtual parties with friends, or just hang out with a group.
It’s a unique way to stay connected with loved ones and enjoy fun activities in real-time. One of the advantages of Houseparty is the availability of interactive games and quizzes that invite engagement.
From trivia games to drawing games and everything in-between, the app creates opportunities for members to play together and socialize. You can also share funny memes, music tracks, and pictures using the platform, making it an immersive social experience.
Houseparty makes it possible to go beyond the usual video call and start an exciting and fun social activity. The app’s real-time interaction is another significant advantage that sets it apart from other socializing apps.
Houseparty makes it possible to enjoy a close-to-real party atmosphere with your friends, even while you are physically separated. And since the app supports multiple people at once, you can enlarge your friend circles and enjoy more socializing with others.
Using Houseparty for virtual gatherings can transform the usual mundane day-to-day into something interactive, fostering better relationships and promoting shared fun. In addition to group chat, Houseparty has a feature that allows video calling.
This feature is useful, especially for moments when you want to communicate using facial expressions or body language. It’s an organic socializing experience that is close to what you would experience if you were meeting up in person.
And since Houseparty is available on both iOS and Android, it lets you connect with friends and family members across multiple devices.
Conclusion
With the ongoing global pandemic, virtual socializing is becoming increasingly important for maintaining social connections. Apps like Netflix parties and Houseparty offer unique and engaging ways to watch movies, socialize and party with friends and family members, even while you’re physically isolated from these loved ones.
The sense of group bonding becomes stronger, and the level of engagement is comparable to face-to-face interactions, strengthening existing relationships and developing new ones. Using these apps encourages a sense of community during a time when the world feels disconnected, and it’s a great way to alleviate anxiety and depression that often arise in this period.
7) Sending Surprise Gifts to Loved Ones
In these times of physical distancing, sending surprise gifts to loved ones is becoming an increasingly popular way to stay emotionally connected. People are looking for old-fashioned ways to show their love and appreciation, and a surprise gift is a great way to do just that.
Small gestures such as sending flowers or an Amazon gift card can make a big impact and help reinforce the emotional connection you have with the recipient. The value of sending a heartfelt gift in times of physical distance goes beyond just the physical gift itself.
It’s about the emotional connection and the joy of letting someone know you’re thinking of them, and a surprise gift is an excellent way to achieve this. It shows that you took the time to think about the other person, to consider their tastes and preferences, and to express your love and gratitude for them.
Even a simple handwritten note or card sent through the mail can be a powerful gesture of care and love. Sending surprise gifts can be as simple or intricate as you desire, from flowers to Amazon or food delivery gift cards.
Ordering flowers have been a long-standing way to send surprise gifts and let someone know you’re thinking of them. The smile that brightens their face when they see the package and receive a beautiful bouquet can sometimes mean the world to them.
Additionally, Amazon gifts offer a wide variety of ideas for gift-giving, and choosing something small and unique for the recipient is always a fun idea. It’s about the surprise and sentimentality of the gift, rather than the monetary value.
The joy and nostalgia created by receiving a surprise gift can be an excellent way to boost someone’s mood, especially at a time when people are feeling particularly anxious or lonely. There is something about the unexpected happiness that comes from receiving a surprise gift that brings back memories of a time when people exchanged tangible things instead of online conversations alone.
You can share in the joy and excitement of the recipient of the gift and even make a follow-up call or video call to discuss the heartfelt nature of the surprise. In conclusion, sending surprise gifts is an excellent way to stay emotionally connected to loved ones, even when we’re physically separated.
A small gesture such as sending a gift can go a long way in showing that you care and that you’re thinking of them. It helps people feel loved and appreciated, even when they can’t be around their friends or family members physically.
Whether it’s a bouquet of flowers or an Amazon gift card, the heartfelt nature of a surprise gift is always likely to be well received by your loved one. In conclusion, there are several ways to stay connected with loved ones during times of physical distancing and uncertainty.
Technology has made it easier than ever to socialize virtually, and platforms like WhatsApp, Houseparty, and Netflix parties provide creative and engaging ways to socialize with friends and family members. Additionally, sending surprise gifts, no matter how small, shows that you care and can help reinforce emotional connections with loved ones.
By staying connected and maintaining meaningful friendships, we can overcome the physical distance and build stronger relationships, making it easier to cope with the challenges we face today.
