Reconnecting and DIstancing Amidst COVID-19
For the past four months, the corona-virus has been nothing but a distressing subject. With the illness dominating the headlines and the rates of those testing positive skyrocketing, it’s been hard for many to find a silver lining in all of this. Many families have become separated due to the lock-down in the United States, but there are also some who have become reconnected with loved ones due to a video communications company called Zoom.
Zoom, based in San Jose, has become increasingly popular since quarantine started. The company’s stock increased by 169 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to finance blog MarketWatch, as millions use it as an easy secure cloud platform for video and audio conferences as well as chats and webinars in quarantine. As people are required to shelter-in-place and most are unable to go into work or travel, the world has had to rely on virtual communication in order to stay in contact with people. Isabella Vergara is a senior at San Jose State University, and currently studying Psychology. She is one of the many people who has used Zoom in order to talk with her family. Vergara says she hasn’t spoken or seen her grandmother, who lives in Bilbao, Spain in years, but because of Zoom, she now talks to her and other family members every Sunday. “It’s hard for my family to go to Spain because of the expenses and she doesn’t have a cellphone or a home phone,” explains Vergara. However, her grandmother’s neighbor began to use Zoom to keep in contact with their family and thought she’d offer the services. “Every Sunday my family, all my aunts, uncles and cousins, jump on Zoom and talk with my grandma. It feels great to talk to family members I haven’t talked to in years, but especially my grandma,” Vergara says.
Vergara isn’t the only person who’s been able to reconnect with family members because of the quarantine. Jason Bore is from New York City and has had to stay in Berkeley due to the spike in New York’s COVID-19 cases. His brother, who has been in the military for the past five years, was released from duty due to the corona-virus and flew to New York to stay with their parents. About a month into quarantine, his mother told him that his brother Nick was coming home. “I haven’t seen him since I was entering high school and he hasn’t really been able to talk that much because of where he’s been stationed. But, because of Zoom, we talk on the computer every night,” Bore says. Bore stated that although he can’t physically be there, it’s so much better than a phone call and he loves seeing his brother’s face.
Although Zoom has helped rekindle many families, there are still many out there who have become distant due to the pandemic. Lily, a senior at Berkeley, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that the quarantine has actually helped her keep distance from her family. Lily explains, “I’ve had a strained relationship with my family the past couple of years, so college has been a great way to stay here in Berkeley and not go home. However, during the summer, I have to because of expenses.” Lily adds that she was able to receive emergency funding from her college in order to help her pay rent. This has allowed her to stay in Berkeley over the summer, take classes, and tell her family she can’t come home. “In a weird way, quarantine and the corona-virus has been the best thing for me. I can stay here in Berkeley and take more classes, and have a reason to keep my distance from my family because of the disease,” she says.
For Vergara, Bore, and Lily, the pandemic has reordered their lives and reshaped connections with close family members. Their stories exemplify the power of technology to forge connections over long distances and in the fast pace of modern life. Moreover, the shelter-in-place ordinance has forced people to think about who matters most, while the virus and its death toll has moved many to realize how short life can be, and how fundamental relationships are to well-being.
