Loneliness and isolation are hard to deal with during normal circumstances. Now, that the pandemic is going on, and everyone in the world is practicing social distancing, it is becoming more difficult to deal with loneliness. A lot of people are living alone, and some are even in isolation due to coming in contact with a COVID-19 infected person. Others are finding it difficult to cope with being cooped up in the house all day long without having a soul to talk to. All this is harming the mental health of people.
It increases stress and anxiety making people prone to sickness. That is why it is important that no matter what, you stay connected with people. Yes, you cannot go out and hang with your friends because of social distancing. But it in no way means that you cannot communicate with them. You have social media, and that is the best thing to connect people virtually and talk for hours. You don’t even have to worry about spending money, you can chat, or video call, or even host a dance party virtually with the help of social media.
During this pandemic, social media has risen as a blessing in disguise, helping people stay connected. Here are some ways through which you can use social media to connect with your friends and family.
1. Watch movies together using Netflix
Before the pandemic hit, we used to have movie nights with friends and family. We could go to the theaters to enjoy a movie with our friends. But now all this is not possible, and we cannot be sure when it will be possible. But that doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy a movie night with your friends and family while doing social distancing? How? Well with the help of the Netflix party.
The leading streaming platform Netflix has come up with a feature of Netflix party that allows you to watch movies or series virtually with your family. You can add this to your chrome browser as an extension which lets you have a group chat while watching a series or so.
2. Make and create videos or podcasts
Another way to connect with tons of people is by creating podcasts or videos and sharing them on social media. This way you not only get a chance to communicate with tons of people, but you can earn money if you reach a good number of followers. Also, you can get your message across. You can create a cooking or how-to videos or beauty videos and so on, and share it on YouTube or IGTV. Creating a podcast is also simple, you need the right equipment, and then you can share it online.
3. Schedule video calls
Video calls are by far the best and easiest way to stay connected with every friend and family member you have. There are tons of apps that allow you to video calls like Zoom, Facetime, Skype, Google Meet, and Whatsapp. A lot of these apps have the feature to include more than 10 people in a call as they focus on people who have conference calls or virtual meetings to attend.
They are a great way to be part of each other’s life and an important occasion without leaving your home.
4. Share creative images
Another way through which you can connect with people using social media is by sharing images or infographics or memes on your social media. These posts can bring a smile on people’s face or inform them about some important precautions that they have to take or so on. It gives you a platform to communicate and share your ideas. You can create original pics or edit them using Canva.
5. Have a virtual party to celebrate events
As we are all following social distancing, we cannot go out and celebrate special occasions. Even if we are living in the same city, we cannot meet our friends or family to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries or so on. With social media calling apps that we mentioned above, you can host a virtual party so that you can be a part of each other’s special days.
Constantly worrying about the pandemic and being negative won’t help you or anyone. The best thing you can do is take the circumstances in stride and do positive things. Use social media to reach out to people who you haven’t talked to in a while. Stay connected with people in this difficult time and be there for each other, and most importantly, stay home!
*This article is provided by a third party contributor
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