The distance making us fonder
Quarantine is keeping us apart, but somehow bringing us closer together?
It’s been 2 months since the start of the circuit breaker, that’s 2 months of not seeing my friends, colleagues — all the humans I love other than my own family. If you’re an extrovert like me, I’m sure you can relate to the pain of not being around people and simply having a fun time together (outside of our homes of course).
However, it seems that despite being physically apart, we are spending more time together virtually? Well, at least that’s the case for me and I assume also for many of my peers judging from the relentless Instagram stories of their Zoom calls.
Before the circuit breaker, I meet my friends maybe, every other week? But now we’re video calling once a week and spending considerable amounts of time together watching movies via the Netflix party extension, playing games like skribbl.io, mahjong, and even club penguin. This Sunday, I’ll be doing a secret santa lunch (basically we send each other food via food delivery) with my friends on my birthday, and next week a virtual bake-off (unfortunately I’ll only get to watch as I don’t have an oven lol). I’ve also tried to initiate a virtual workout session like everyone else is doing on Instagram, but I guess my friends and I are happier just stoning on our chairs.
If it wasn’t for quarantine, I doubt I’d be spending this much time with my friends, albeit virtually. We never really had the practice of video calling each other either, not even when I was away in Australia for 2 years! I think the forceful distance keeping us apart is making us crave each other’s company much more, hence cherishing such opportunities to stay connected more and making the time spent much more meaningful. Even leaving the video call on to keep each other company while we go about our day could help us feel less alone. Thanks to technology, we’re still able to create meaningful connections and spend quality time with each other. Social distancing who?
On the other hand, quarantine forces us to spend more time with our families, and that honestly, has been going very well for me. Not only have we become God of Gamblers on the mahjong table, but my entire family is also on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, my dad has become unbeatable as Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros, I’ve lost my voice screaming over burnt food in Overcooked too many times and have a stash of videos of my family dancing during Just Dance to show to the generations to come.
During such unprecedented times, not only is it fortunate that we have a roof over our heads and food on the table, but to be able to be accompanied by technology that lets us stay connected regardless of distance, to have food and groceries comfortably sent to our doorsteps upon pressing a few buttons, and entertainment to pass time. We’re staying safe at home and becoming closer together while apart.
I hope quarantine is treating everyone well! The circuit breaker will be lifted next week but we’ll still have to wait (at least) a month to see each other again. In the meantime, get on a call to reconnect with friends, play games, workout with your family, and do whatever you can to keep your social bar up. The virus may cripple our economy but let’s not let it take away our sanity.
