We can’t hang out with our friends, or visit our family due to our state’s shelter at home order. I even had to tell my son, who is away at college, to not come home for a weekend visit. In times like these creativity is required to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Here are 5 inexpensive ways to communicate during the COVID-19 Pandemic:
Phone Call
The phone call may be shunned by many, but it’s still an effective way of communicating when you want to have a one on one conversation.
Emails
Email your loved ones often, even if it’s simply the “Checking in!” variety, or providing any info on what’s going on in your life right now. They can read it and respond at their convenience.
Instant Messaging
Text messages and Facebook Messenger provide a way to send someone a quick note they can read at any time. Or, it can be used to have a more real time conversation without requiring the phone be tethered to your ear. Groups can also be used to have a multi-person discussion. I have a friend group of 18 in a group text chat that gets very active on Friday and Saturday night. Last weekend my wife and I sat around a fire table as the text messages were sent and received at a blustery pace.
Front Step Neighborhood Parties
My neighborhood has what we call, “cul-de-sac” meetings. People come out of their homes and meet in the middle of the cul-de-sac to talk for 20-30 minutes. Obviously this doesn’t conform to current social distancing guidelines. Yesterday many of us came out of our homes and either stood on our front step OR the end of our driveways. We were sufficiently far apart, but were still able to catch up with our friends and neighbors.
Video Chat
Video chat tools like Facetime, Facebook Messenger, Skype and Zoom enable one on one or group video chats. These may work best when you schedule them so everyone is available at the same time, and have the ability to make themselves look presentable for camera. We even played Jackbox games during one Zoom video chat!
Interaction with friends and family is something we’ve taken for granted that has now been taken away from us. Fortunately, technology provides many inexpensive ways to communicate while we are temporarily unable to gather in person.
How about you, EOD Nation, how are you keeping in touch with friends and family during the COVID-19 pandemic?
