“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention…. A loving silence often has far more power to heal and to connect than the most well-intentioned words.”― Rachel Naomi Remen
Have you suddenly found yourself stuck at home? With our country and the world taking measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it’s become more important than ever before to find ways to stay connected while staying home. To be honest, it’s been a struggle for our family. We are typically social butterflies and not being able to connect with friends and family has been emotionally challenging.
Ways To Stay Connected With Friends & Loved Ones While Social Distancing:
Write a letter
Grab a piece of paper and write a hand-written letter to someone. There are many senior citizens who are currently having to self-isolate by themselves. This is a very lonely time for so many and a simple letter could brighten someone’s day. If you have young children, consider having them draw pictures that could be sent to a senior retirement facility. Or, you can also send a letter to a friend or family member. You never know who’s day you might brighten by sending a surprise letter in the mail.
Send an email
Take a few minutes and send an email to a friend or loved one. Seeing an email pop up from a friend or loved one could brighten someone’s day. Are you a quote person? Send someone your favorite quote. Even a quick message lets someone know that you are thinking about them.
Schedule a FaceTime Call with your friends
FaceTime is a great way to stay connected with friends and family during this time. Just seeing someone’s smiling face can brighten your day. In our home we have been scheduling FaceTime dates for our daughter with her friends. While it certainly doesn’t replace in-person time, getting to eat lunch with her friends has made her day. Grandparents also love seeing their grandchildren. This is a lonely time for all of us. Let’s do our best to stay connected.
Pick up the phone and call someone
Know someone who doesn’t have access to video chat or social media? Pick up the phone and call a friend or family member. I have personally made an intentional effort to call my grandmother more often. Right now many people (senior citizens especially) are stuck inside by themselves. Make time to listen to them. Perhaps you can reminisce over past memories or you can talk about future plans. Just hearing from a loved one can make a huge difference in the mental health of someone.
Use Social Media
If you have FaceBook or Instagram, both of these can be great platforms to share pictures and encouraging messages with your friends and family. Make sure you are connecting with people who encourage you and lift you up. Being active on social media may help you cope during this time of isolation. However, it’s also important to limit your screen time and to make time for self-care.
Use the Zoom App
Zoom is an online platform and app that allows you to connect with others virtually. This tool is great for everything from holding online business meetings to hosting virtual happy hours with friends. Zoom allows you to create community while still social distancing. Zoom is also free to sign up.
Use Marco Polo App
The Marco Polo App allows users to send Video Messages to friends who are also on the app. One thing that’s great about this app is that you can create group video messages. You can leave a video message for someone to watch when they have time. I personally have been using this app to stay in touch my high-school friends for many years. With Marco Polo you can send group or individual video messages.
How are you staying connected during this challenging time? I’d love to hear from you if you have other ideas to stay connected during this period of social distancing. Stay safe and stay well!
We are FaceTiming a lot these days. Even with friends working the city. I will check out Marco pollo app. Never heard of it. Awesome post.
We have spent a lot of time FaceTiming as well. I’ve used MarcoPolo for years now. I love that you can record a message of any length and then your friend can watch it later when it’s convenient for them. Thanks for taking the time to read my post!