Over the past year, we’ve all gotten used to socializing less than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The new normal means that going to parties, seeing movies with friends, taking part in many of our favorite activities and even going out for a meal is nowhere near as easy as it used to be, with strict social distancing measures in place that are designed to slow down the spread of the coronavirus until enough people have received the vaccination for it to be safe to get back to normal life once again.
For many people, this has led to feeling isolated and cut off from the world, especially if they have been working from home for the duration of the pandemic and no longer have that regular contact with work colleagues that they would usually enjoy. If you want to expand your social circle, making new friends has not been easy over the past year either, with fewer opportunities to get out and meet new people. But the good news is that technology has made it easier than ever for many of us to continue our social lives in a safe manner.
Virtual Movie Nights
Going to the cinema for the latest new release with your friends might feel like a thing of the past right now, but the good news is that virtual movie nights have been available throughout the pandemic and are one of the best ways for groups of friends to keep in touch or for couples to arrange a safe online date night. If you are wondering how to watch movies with friends online so that you can stay in touch and keep up with the best films that you all enjoy even while cinemas are not operating as usual, you can find out more at Setapp. Setapp provides information on some of the top tools that you can use to watch movies online with your friends or family from the comfort of your own home and enjoy a fun social occasion without the need to risk anyone’s health in these unusual times.
Virtual Quizzes
In the early days of the pandemic, one of the main ways that groups of friends and work colleagues got together online to stay in touch and remain social was with virtual quizzes on platforms like Zoom. These are really easy to set up and fun to do; they’re great for some after-work fun on a Friday night or a virtual meet-up with your friends on a weekend instead of going to the quiz at your local pub or bar. How you want to play it is up to you; you could get people together in teams or play as individuals and there are tons of quiz questions and answers that you can access for free online to give to the quiz master to read out. Whether you’re playing for a prize or just for the fun of it, it’s a great way to spend your time indoors while keeping in touch with the people closest to you even when you’re unable to see them in person right now.
Online Forums and Groups
If the past year has made it difficult for you to make new friends, the good news is that making new friends online is now much more commonplace and accepted. You can find several online forums where you will be able to meet like-minded people or head to social media where you can put out a message for anybody else who is hoping to make new friends to find. Local Facebook groups are a great idea since they allow you to meet with people from your area who might be in the same boat and today there are plenty of friendship groups who happened to meet up on social media rather than in-person.
Stream Games
If you enjoy gaming and have spent a lot of the pandemic playing games at home, it can easily begin to feel a little lonely. If you want to share your hobby with more of your friends and perhaps make some new ones in the process, you might want to consider streaming your favorite games using an online service like Twitch, which is easy and free to get started with. The best part about Twitch is that once you hit a certain number of subscribers and views, you will gain affiliate status which allows other users to pay to subscribe to your channel, so you could even end up earning some extra money from it too. You can interact with your followers and play any games on your PC or console, including games that are interactive and allow you to get your viewers involved for even more fun.
Virtual Dinners
If you’re looking for something simple and easy to do with your friends and family while you’re unable to visit them in person, getting everybody together for a virtual dinner or drinks can be a fun way to spend the time and feel like you’re visiting, even when you’re all safe in your own homes. This can be an ideal way to celebrate a birthday during the pandemic or another special occasion that is coming up when you’d normally be around at a relative or friend’s home. Choose a video calling platform that everybody uses like Facetime, WhatsApp or Zoom and set the devices up in optimal places so that everybody can see one another.
Online Games
Finally, playing online games with your friends and family is a fun way to pass the time and an ideal choice for spending some time together if you can’t get together in person. There are tons of free and paid game options to choose from including mini-games in Facebook messenger or console multiplayer games, so there’s something for everybody depending on the devices that you use and what you like. Cross-platform games like Among Us, for example, can be played by players on smartphones or PC, making it the ideal choice for groups of friends looking for something fun to do virtually.
How are you staying in touch and having fun with your friends and family online during the pandemic?
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