Staying connected and being united have always helped humanity march towards success, but when the very safety of our loved ones lies in staying apart, it is natural to feel a bit under the weather.
Fortunately, most people around the world can still be connected virtually, if not physically, to each other with the help of the internet. If the same pandemic were to happen a decade or two ago, then the situation would have been very different. Thanks to the fast and wide internet connectivity, people can reach out to their loved ones even if they are thousands of miles apart.
Of course, just phone calls and text messages are not going to cut it. Our boredom threshold in 2020 is undeniably low, and the hunt to reunite with friends and family without jeopardising health continues. So, we heard you and here are four ways for a socially distant get-together party!
1. Play Board Games Online
If you were born in the pre-smartphone era, then you are one of the lucky people who have experienced the beautiful joy of playing on board games with friends and family. Although the advancement of science and technology came as a blessing, it rendered board games as a thing of the past.
But it is not a completely cloudy day for board game lovers, especially for the lovers of ludo! A new game in town called Ludo Supreme is revolutionising the experience of playing ludo. With a completely redefined experience of playing the ludo game online, it just takes 10 minutes to finish the game and also earns you money!
Since the game can be played online, all your friends need is a good internet connection to play with you from the comfort of their homes.
If your friends are unavailable to play at the time of your choosing, then you can still have fun by playing with random players. You can even see this as a means of connecting with new people!
Not a big fan of Ludo or never played on a ludo board? Don’t fret. There are many other games that you can play, but may not be as convenient as the one mentioned above.
If you have any board game at home, and your friends also have the same like monopoly or snakes and ladders, then what you can do is both set up the game identically and play with each other over a video call! Yes, it might be slightly inconvenient, but if you are a board game lover, you will certainly have a good time.
This brings us to our next tip of reuniting with friends – group video calls!
2. Group Video Calls
Group video calls may sound cliché, but you will be surprised how fun they can be especially when you have not met your friends for a long time!
Thanks to the internet and smartphones, there are several ways to reunite with your friends and family members! Here are some of the most popular group video calling apps:
- Zoom
- MS Teams
- Houseparty
- FaceTime
WhatsApp is probably the most popular of them all because not only does it allow for group video calls, but also doubles down as one of the world’s most popular and widely used text messaging mobile application on both iOS and Android operating systems.
Zoom and MS Teams are the best ones if you want to have a get-together with tens or hundreds of members at once!
Face Time is exclusive for iOS users and is incredibly well-known and very much loved for its amazing video quality, low latency, excellent audio and easy-to-use interface.
3. Netflix Party
There are about 200 million users of Netflix! This goes to show the popularity of Netflix among us. Unless you have been living under a rock, you must have surely heard the popular phrase ‘Netflix and chill’. So, Netflix is undoubtedly a great addition in our homes during the lockdown phases.
With all that said, it is undeniable that we all dearly miss hanging out with our friends for a movie night or hitting the theatres to watch the latest and greatest movies. Well, of course, all that is not possible with the whole pandemic and quarantine situation.
So, what is the alternative to an epic movie night with friends? Netflix Party, of course!
So, what is Netflix Party you ask? Well, before you jump to conclusions, it is not a real party hosted by Netflix. Instead, it is a Google Chrome extension that you can install in the browser that allows you to watch any Netflix movie or show with your friends for free.
The way it works is pretty simple. Just install the extension, activate it, and after starting your show, invite your friends by sending them the Netflix Party code. A chatroom opens up where you can all have a fun time together.
4. Online Dating
No, we are not talking about regular online dating where you find each other on the internet and meet in person. The difference here is that even your date is over the web! As absurd as it may sound at first, it has become a thing of 2020 and people seem to be loving it!
You can find your dates on online dating apps like Tinder and then when you are comfortable with the other person, try arranging for a date.
Below are some ways that people are doing it.
a) Dinners
Classic candlelight dinners still exist. But in 2020, they are redefined to better suit the time.
Plan on your favourite cuisine or dish and simply order it from a restaurant near you. If you want to build up the friendly and joyful aura, then you and your date can even plan to cook. The only catch here is that all of this takes place on video calls!
Then, maybe when everything is back to normal, or better, you both can go to a real candlelight dinner.
b) House Hangouts
If you are not that big on romance and “setting the mood”, then this could be the one for you.
How it works is simple. Dial-up a video call to your date and simply hang around in your respective houses talking to each other and sharing how you get your things done throughout the day. This will be even more fun when you and your dates are from different cultures or countries because you might get to see and learn new things as well!
Conclusion
The novel Coronavirus pandemic has made it incredibly difficult to stay in the loop of our circles with friends and family, and it is safe to say that a majority of us, in every part of the world, miss our dear ones. Thanks to the internet, we do not have to worry much about it and can still keep our sanity knowing we are not alone in this.
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