COVID-19 and my social life
Throughout our history, humanity has experienced numerous pandemics and adapted to survive. The COVID-19 pandemic that is currently active has had a massive impact on our lifestyles. We have to wear a mask whenever we leave the house, socially distance ourselves from every individual, and isolate ourselves as much as possible. I’m not sure about you, but my family has been isolating ourselves to lower the chance of one of us getting COVID-19. However, being in isolation has impacted my social life and free time.
I talk to my friends over the phone or in-person socially distanced, and using an N-95 mask. Also, I find myself finishing my work in a more orderly fashion, and I have more free time.
The only problem is that I’m constantly bored since I do not have any activities that seem interesting. However, both the free time and changes in my social life have given me the opportunity to experiment with different types of socialization. I have been doing this through two other methods; socializing with my friends through video games and daily check-ins.
Before the pandemic, I never relied on technology to socialize with my friends. However, as time has passed, I slowly realized that technology is a key component in my socialization abilities. Over the past few months, I have been trying something new with my friends. Daily checkins. Now, what does this mean? Well, every day, typically in the evening, I text all my friends to see how they are all doing and if anything interesting happened that day. I find this method effective since I can keep up with the events occurring in my friend’s lives, and it makes me happy. In addition to daily check-ins, I try to call my friends and talk to them at least once a week.
I’m not sure about you, but I prefer hearing my friends rather than reading their messages. Also, I have found that a lot of my friends appreciate talking over the phone since it feels like you are having a meaningful conversation.
Other than phones, there is one other method that I use to communicate with my friends. This may sound a little strange, but you can use video games as a way to socialize with friends, as well as new people. I believe that video games are a great way to have fun with your friends. I have discovered that whenever I spend time with my friends, it improves my mood and makes me happy. However, having a time limit for video games is needed. Staring into a screen for a prolonged time can cause harm.
Even though the isolation has numerous negative effects, it has allowed me to discover new ways to talk to my friends and meet new people. It has almost been a full year of being in lockdown, and every day is getting more difficult. However, I know that if we don’t take the necessary precautions, the chances of getting the virus rise significantly. These socialization methods are incredibly effective, and I believe that they are an excellent way to maintain your social skills and a good mood for both you and your friends. After the vaccine is fully implemented, I hope we can normalize and see each other in person without personal protective equipment.