6 Ways To Stay Connected While Social Distancing

Learn how to stay connected while social distancing and avoid the effects of loneliness and isolation during the coronavirus crisis.

The entire Covid-19 situation has left us completely cut off from the social lives we used to know. However, it is possible to learn how to stay connected while social distancing!

Just a few short months ago, we took for granted the fact we could head off to see a friend and sit in a cafe or bar without any restrictions, other than closing time. Those halcyon days indeed!

Of course, it’s important to remember that those days will come again. We just need to be patient, do what we have to do in the meantime, and maintain our social distance. If that means not seeing our nearest and dearest in person for a while, unfortunately then so be it. Safety first!

However, just because you can’t head over and see your friends and family in person, that doesn’t mean you can’t stay connected in other ways.

We deal with difficult situations by finding strength in those around us, and it means that we need to find novel and innovative ways to stay connected even though we can’t see each other in person.
In times like this, it’s not what you have that matters, it’s who you have. So, if we can’t do face to face meetings, what can we do? Let’s learn how to stay connected while social distancing.

# Have regular Zoom parties

Zoom might be primarily for work meetings, but it’s been adopted as the platform of choice for friends and family members coming together for virtual parties over the last few weeks! You could all sit, connected via Zoom and watch the same movie. You could even have your own private nightclub session!

There are many ways you can learn how to stay connected while social distancing, but this is one of the best for getting several people together and basically socializing in the same way you would do otherwise, minus the personal touch.

# Create WhatsApp groups

If you haven’t already, set up a WhatsApp group of your friends or family. Shoot messages off throughout the day whenever a funny thought enters your mind. Any funny gifs or memes you see, send them to the group.

You’ll probably find that you spend most of the day on the group. And, the time passes far faster. It’s a genius way to stay connected. Plus, you can send voice messages to the group for a more vocal touch.

# Be a little more active on social media

Most of us are spending more time on our social media platforms at the moment. And social media is a great way to learn how to stay connected while social distancing. Reach out to the people you have on your friends list who you don’t speak to much. You never know, maybe they need a little human contact during this difficult time!

The strength that people find in human interactions should never be underestimated. It could be liking a picture, commenting on a post, or just sending a quick “hey, how are you” message. Whatever it is, it’s a way to stay connected.

Perhaps we will all come out of this situation having re-connected with our old friends. In that light, it’s a real positive.

# Try a Netflix party

If you want Netflix through Google Chrome, or if you can arrange it so you’re watching it through Chrome, you can have a Netflix party with your friends! This means that you’re watching the same show. There is also a chat window available so you can talk about what you’re watching and discuss the plot and maybe which actors are hot!

If you want to see each other while watching a film you should stick to Zoom, but commenting is still fun via a Netflix party!

# Play around on Houseparty

If you haven’t downloaded Houseparty yet, it’s time to give it a try! This isn’t just a video app for group chats, it’s more than that. You can play interactive games in real time. Basically having yourselves a real party. Bonus! You can involve several people at any one time.

Of course, if you just want to sit chatting on a split screen with several people, you can do that too. Houseparty’s capabilities are fantastic and really show you how to stay connected while social distancing and how easy it can be.

# Send a gift to someone you miss

Of course, you could go down the old fashioned route. Sometimes, this is the most heart-warming. Sure, you’re probably talking to your friends and family members on the phone, but why not arrange for a surprise gift to be delivered?

Order some flowers for a family member, or a gift from Amazon to be delivered to a friend. When it arrives, they’ll be so overcome with joy and nostalgia that it will certainly make their day. Is there any better way to stay connected than this?

Learning how to stay connected while social distancing is mostly down to technology. We’re blessed that we have so many options available to use. If this situation had happened 30 years ago, we would have been stuck with just a landline phone number to call, with no way to see our friends and family in person.