Tips for Staying Connected During Quarantine

Humans have always been social creatures, so our ongoing national quarantine has been difficult for many. Experts say that prolonged isolation increases our risk of depression and anxiety. Since social distancing and some degree of quarantining will probably be necessary for quite some time, it’s important that we all learn how to find new ways to connect.

Luckily, the internet makes it easier than ever to stay in touch and the amount of online entertainment available even makes it possible to watch movies and play games “with” your friends without leaving your home. Quarantine is a challenge, but here are some tips for staying connected.

Share memories and events friends you can’t see.

Life isn’t the same right now, but we can make every day special in small ways. Go on walks outside with your family, try new arts and crafts, maybe learn a new skill. You can document your quarantine adventures and share them with your friends and family quickly and easily online using a private photo share.

It’s important to find things that are exciting and meaningful about our day-to-day lives, even now. Make the ordinary extraordinary and share the fun with the people who matter to you. Social media, for all its flaws, is crucial now for keeping up with our friends’ lives when we can’t see them. The important thing is to keep living and sharing your experiences with everyone.

Find ways to play together online.

If you aren’t already, it might be time to consider becoming a gamer. It’s not all shooting games and violence if that’s not your thing. Whether it’s Rocket League, Overwatch, or Call of Duty, there’s a game for everyone who wants to play with their friends. You can even purchase your own game server hosting to use for multiplayer gaming with your friends.

You get 24/7 access to your own dedicated server for a monthly fee. Whether or not you and your friends are hardcore gamers, finding a reliable way to play together can be a saving grace when you’re stuck at home for weeks. There are also plenty of ways to play more classic games like Monopoly or Jeopardy digitally, so you can still have Trivia Night even though you can’t hit the bar.

Make plans to “hang out.”

It’s easy to lose track of days or find it hard to keep a schedule when things are so different and we’re all inside much more than we’re used to. Try to make plans with your family and friends the same way you usually would. It’ll restore a little normality in your life, and you’ll be more likely to connect and talk to them if you set a time to do it, rather than just texting about how you should catch up soon for months and then never actually doing it.

Building a schedule for your week is important since it’s so hard to create structure in your schedule when you’re working and spending most of your time at home, and making time for your friends is more important now than ever. Whether it’s just chatting, having a happy hour, or using an app like Netflix Party to watch movies together, there are plenty of ways to “hang out” from afar.

As the country continues to implement varying degrees of quarantine to combat COVID-19, we all need to adapt and find ways to stay in touch with the people we love that we aren’t able to see right now. For many who don’t spend much time on the internet or who don’t engage with much digital entertainment, it might take some effort to learn what kinds of things you’re able to do online now and how we can still socialize from a distance. No matter how you do it, it’s essential to find ways to connect with the people who are important to us during the quarantine.