Embracing Virtual Connection Due To Social Distancing

Social distancing is the term used by Public Health officials to describe certain measures taken to prevent the spread of something highly contagious. It includes a variety of actions focused on reducing contact with others, such as: avoiding public spaces and large gatherings, working from home, and teleconferencing. It even means keeping a distance of at least six to eight feet between people when in the company of others. Other measures by government officials have been put into place, ]including the closure of bars, restaurants, and gyms.

As the reality of the pandemic of COVID-19 (coronavirus) sets in for those in the United States, and more measures are taken to increase social distancing, it may be hard not to feel scared, detached, and alone. This is especially true for those whose primary love language is touch. These individuals show affection to others through hugs, high fives, backscratches, or kisses on the check. For them, removing physical contact feels like being silenced. Even for those whose love language isn’t physical, they could still be experiencing anxiety from fear, grief and loss around canceled events, or uncertainty around changes that seem to be happening daily.

So, how do we keep ourselves connected with one another? How do we prevent feeling isolated dread?

The answer is: through virtual connections.

There are very few of us who don’t have lives online. We spend hours on social media: sharing posts, following celebrities, and sharing memes. Some of us stream live videos, like on Twitch. Some of us even create meaningful connections on dating sites or through support groups. There are many facets to human relationships, so it’s no surprise that they can be made online. Using the power of virtual connection, we are able to create real emotional bonds.

Over the past few days, I’ve gathered together a medley of online community-based activities to help anyone who is struggling with social distancing. As the pandemic starts to grow, I suspect more organizations will be developing ways to increase virtual connection. So, make a friend, watch a show, or learn an activity. The more you do, the better you’ll feel. Why? Because you are challenging the belief that you are helpless, hopeless, and abandoned. Though you have every right to feel these feelings, our mind and body strive for balance both inside and outside of ourselves. Living in an isolated emotional state for too long will throw you way off balance.

Therefore, find balance. Embrace a new way to connect through these online activities:

Virtual Travel:

• Explore the surface of Mars on the Curiosity Rover

• Take a 360 degree tour of Canadian Farms

• Have animal encounters:

  • San Diego Zoo Live Animal Cam Feeds

  • Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Animal Cam Feeds

  • Georgia Aquarium Live Animal Cam Feeds

  • Atlanta Zoo Live Panda Cam Feed

  • Cincinnati Zoo Live Safari Events on Facebook

  • Houston Zoo Live Animal Cams

• Check out exhibits at The Louvre in Paris, France

• Voyage to The Great Wall of China

• Jaunt three floors of fun at The Boston Children’s Museum

• Travel the globe, including The Mississippi River, The Channel Islands, and Africa with live cams from Explore

• Walkthrough Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Virtual Learning:

• Choose a topic from 1,500 free online courses to study with Open Culture

• Bring the Scholastic Book Fair to your home with Scholastic Learning at Home

• Learn story-building, math, and physics from Disney Imagineers through their free online learning course, Disney Imagineering in a Box

• Louisiana Public Broadcasting partnered with Louisiana Department of Education to offer a variety of learning resources, including free videos, apps, and a broadcasting schedule of their education TV

• The Top 8 Ivy League Universities are offering over 450 classes to enroll in online for free

Virtual Wellness:

• Participate in live-streams of Dharma talks and meditation with Against The Stream

• From beginner to expert, join in on a variety of online yoga classes for free with Do Yoga With Me

• Join live online meditations with Copper Beech Institute

• In response to temporarily closing their doors, YMCA started a YouTube channel, YMCA 360, to help promote health and wellness

• Connect with Turn2Me for free online support groups for anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation

• The Tribe has support groups for mental health conditions, addiction, teens, and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as mental health

• SMART Recovery has online support groups, online meetings, and chat rooms for addiction recovery

• +Support Groups has hundreds of online chatroom support groups, from individuals suffering severe acne to people prescribed Zoloft

Virtual Events:

• Have a night at the opera with free streams from The Metropolitan Opera

• Billboard has a regularly updated list of impromptu Livestream concerts that celebrities are putting together in response to live show cancellations

• Stay At Home Fest is an online music and events calendar designed to share and live stream a variety of events around the world, to encourage people to stay at home during this pandemic

• Watch the dynamic team to Critical Role play D&D live on Tuesdays, often featuring special guest stars like Felicia Day, Joe Manganiello, and Vin Diesel

• Watch Call of Duty League E-sports events live via YouTube

  • Chipotle’s virtual lunchtime hangouts

  • Jump over to Instagram and follow cook Antoni Porowski, from the show popular Netflix show, Queer Eye, as he hosts cooking lessons he has titled Queer Eye: Cooking Lessons in Quarantine

  • Michelin-starred chef, Massimo Bottura, is also hosting cooking lessons on Instagram

  • While on Instagram, join a virtual dance party by following Mark Kanemura, a former backup dancer with Lady Gaga

  • Follow a variety of celebrities who will be reading children’s stories live online, including Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf from Frozen

    • You can also watch pre-recorded videos of celebrities reading children’s stories at Storyline Online

    • Story Time From Space has pre-recorded videos of astronauts reading in space

  • YAYMaker is offering virtual Paint Night and Draw Night for anyone wanting to get creative, with some support

  • Netflix Party is a Google Chrome extension that synchronizes video playback and has a group chat feature, so you and your friends can watch your favorite Netflix titles together.

  • Many streaming services, such as HBO Max from AT&T, are offering a variety of incentives to support those stuck in the home. All Connect has compiled a large list of these promotions.

Virtual Church

• Here is a list of San Francisco based churches, masques, and temples that are transitioning their services online for the community

• Here is a list of the 5 biggest online churches (of Christian faith)

Human connection is vital to our existence. We are social creatures. It may seem bleak now, but find hope in the fact that we live in an age where a virtual connection is possible.

Will you check out any of the events listed? Let me know in the comments section below!

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