83: 9 ways to use technology to ward off isolation

Life can toss many situations at us that will force us to be stuck at home. It could be a long term illness, the weather, the choice to stay home more in order to save money, or many other things. Today I'll share 9 ways that you can use technology to ward off isolation in times such as these.   *Hear this blog post as a podcast episode by pressing the triangle play button near the top of this post!*   If an isolation situation happened 100 years ago, people were isolated in the most dire sense of the word. You could only socialize with who was in the same room/house with you. If you were lucky, you could get a letter off to Uncle Joe—but it might take weeks to hear anything back. We sometimes take for granted all the options available to us today to connect with others via technology. If we use these options for good, they can provide a positive uplifting connection in uncertain or stressful times. Note: I know there are people who try to stay away from using too much technology. Every family is different, and certain individuals might have a hard time with how they process to much time online. I would caution you to not let fear control your choices: your kids will not automatically turn into zombies who won't do anything else if they're given more than the "recommended" amount of screen time. My kids are living proof of that. However, having said that, do what works for your family.   *Did I miss something? I only know what I know. If there is an app or website I missed that you think should be included, drop me a line at [email protected].*   9 Ways to Use Technology to Increase Connection:   1: Video Chat There are many options available for video chats: Facetime, Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, SnapChat, etc. I've seen people use these tools to have mock dinner parties, to join each other for a morning cup of coffee, or to have an evening cocktail with friends. Also, many music schools have moved to video chat type music lessons. It's neat to see how people are making use of technology to keep their conversations going! My favorite app for this is Marco Polo. You can do chats one on one or you can form groups where multiple people can contribute to the same chat. (Only one person can chat at a time, however.) Great way for quick, informal connection! Coffee is always better when you're with a friend...even if you're on a screen! 2: Live streams Livestreams are easy to do on apps like Facebook or websites like YouTube, and I've seen a couple neat ways that people have used them to connect to each other. I've seen local musicians do a live stream concert from their living room (and then attach a venmo or paypal link if you want to donate some money towards the gig.) I've also seen a lot of churches move to live streaming recently—even my little church in my little town has started putting things out on Facebook Live. I enjoy doing live streams on YouTube and plan to increase my frequency of them. Wondering how a YouTube live stream works? I'm on video, and you (and everyone else that's watching) is in a live chat—you are NOT on video. I can only see what you're typing, which means you can ask me questions or comment to what I'm saying, and I see it in real time. Subscribe to my YouTube channel and click the notification bell if you want to know the next time I'm going live. (Bonus: if you miss the live stream, it's still recorded and you can watch the replay—although obviously, the replay doesn't allow you to contribute to the live chat.)   3: Catch up on podcasts/YouTube/blog posts to learn a skill If you find yourself with extra free time, why not use it to learn a skill you've been wanting to learn? Learn to sew, crochet, knit, bake bread, build a gate, eviscerate a chicken, butcher a pig, or make egg nog. Having time on your hands is a great time to put those hands to good use. What kinds of things do you want to learn? I love recording podcasts for you!