How to Stay Social While Social Distancing

By: Anna Markaryan '22

(Image courtesy of agora.unicef.org)

Having good relationships and a healthy social life is very important for our mental health. When we hang out with friends, it helps us unwind and have fun.

During the current pandemic, it can seem very hard to stay in touch with friends. The only safe thing to do right now is to social distance and stay away from other people, and unfortunately this comes with feelings of loneliness or boredom. Despite this, it’s important to make the best out of bad situations. There are still ways to communicate and socialize with other people.

Nowadays we have so many resources through technology that allow us to keep in touch with our friends. You can talk about anything to people all over the globe! By FaceTiming or texting friends, you can stay updated on how life is going for them and it may help you feel less alone. If you have interesting conversations, you won't even realize that you’re not meeting up in real life. After all, what’s important is the people you’re talking to, not the setting.

Another way to keep in touch with friends and be social is through school Zoom calls. If you don’t have time or motivation to talk to your friends during the day, you can start small and try making conversation in Zoom calls, such as in breakout rooms. Because Zoom calls are a major part of your day, you can make the most out of it by participating and possibly make new friends, which will make school more fun!

Lastly, it's important to stay positive and try to find the will to socialize. Given the current pandemic, we are all going through hard times and this may impact our mental health and desire to keep in touch with people. It’s very important to push yourself even more in times like this to keep your social life from plummeting!