{"id":8331,"date":"2020-04-02T08:26:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-02T12:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/?p=8331"},"modified":"2024-02-02T18:45:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T18:45:19","slug":"how-to-stay-connected-in-a-virtual-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/2020\/04\/02\/how-to-stay-connected-in-a-virtual-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Stay Connected in a Virtual World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you\u2019re\nanything like me, this time of solitude and quarantine is driving you crazy!\nBeing confined between the walls of your house can seem daunting and\nunpredictable. At this point, you\u2019ve probably run out of board games to play,\nthe puzzles are all finished, you\u2019ve re-watched your favorite season of Friends\nfour times, and you\u2019re starting to get tired of those you\u2019ve been quarantining\nwith. I\u2019m here to tell you that there is so much more out there! Many\nbusinesses, including ours, have had to adapt and remain in communication with\none another in order to maintain productivity, as well as help boost morale. <\/p>\n\n\n

Human connection\nis such an important aspect of maintaining happiness, which makes it crucial to\nlearn how to stay connected, even in a virtual world. Here are a few tips and a\nfew resources that you can use in order to maintain that connection as well as support\nthe community, even in this time of stress and uncertainty.  <\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual Games<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

It\u2019s not out of the question to hold a virtual game night with your friends. In fact, there are so many apps and other digital tools available to make a virtual game night fun and easy for everyone! Ellen DeGeneres has an app called \u2018Psych\u2019 that lets participates play from across the room and across the country. Choose from a variety of games to keep things interesting. Check it out here<\/a>. \u2018House Party\u2019 is another fun party game application. It allows participates to FaceTime with each other while they are inside the app, creating a fun space to entertain and laugh together as if you were in person. Download it here<\/a>. Just the other day, my family and I were able to play a few board games over the phone. We just sent each other pictures of the cards or the board, and they were able to tell us how to move the pieces. Get creative! There are so many ways to stay in touch with family and friends through the fun of gaming. <\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual Watch\nParties<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Netflix has changed the game for everyone by allowing users to view movies and TV shows together in real time. \u2018Netflix Party\u2019 is a Google Chrome extension that allows users to chat and get together and watch their favorite movies, all over the internet! I have personally taken advantage of this opportunity by viewing the new Netflix docuseries \u2018Tiger King\u2019 with some of my childhood friends. Netflix, as well as many other viewing platforms, are also releasing movies that were originally in theater early, so that you can still enjoy them from the safety of your home. Try it out yourself, grab the popcorn, and see if your family would be interested in a movie night, it\u2019s the next best thing to that movie theater experience we\u2019ve all been missing. Here<\/a> is the link to sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual Happy\nHour<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual happy\nhours have become the norm hang out the past couple of weeks. Companies have implemented\nthe social hour as a way of increasing happiness amongst employees, I know we\nhave! But it doesn\u2019t have to just be for employees and companies, you and your friends\ncan enjoy a drink on the back porch together. Just grab your phone or laptop,\nset up Zoom, FaceTime, Teams or whatever virtual chat platform you prefer, and head\noutside with your favorite drink. This is a great time to start some of those\nvirtual party game apps as well. Virtual happy hours also give you a chance to catch\nup with old friends you wouldn\u2019t normally have had a chance to catch up with! <\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual Athletic\nCompetitions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

A lot of organizations are throwing virtual 5Ks or virtual walkathons to help continue to raise money in support of the local communities and organizations it sponsors. I\u2019ve been reading about a lot of companies who are implementing similar competitions in which they have their employees compete based on how many steps they walk each day, using a Fitbit or an Apple Watch. You can create a competition amongst you and your friends, to make sure people are staying active and keeping their energy level high. This is a great way for friends and family to stay connected, as well as possibly give back to the community. Check out this Disney virtual 5K<\/a> coming up in June! <\/p>\n\n\n

Virtual Hobbies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

Although usually considered a solitary hobby, reading can become a fun activity for a large group of people to take part in. Many libraries and other literary groups are hosting virtual book clubs where people from all over can discuss books and meet other book lovers. Buzzfeed Bookclub<\/a> is a great one you should check out, as well as Now Read This<\/a>, hosted by PBS News Hour and The New York Times Book Review. If reading isn\u2019t your thing and you\u2019re more interested in ways you can help out your community or city, there are tons of opportunities to become a virtual volunteer. I\u2019ve recently started helping out the Smithsonian transcribe documents and diaries. It is extremely fulfilling and something you can pick up or put down whenever you want. Check it out here<\/a>. You can also check out The United Nations Volunteer Program<\/a>, and the Crisis Text Line<\/a> for other opportunities to help out. <\/p>\n\n\n

Hopefully this\nlist of virtual activities gives you a few ideas about how to stay connected.\nWe here at Schell Brothers love that we support a culture of happiness, and we want\nto make sure you guys stay happy even during this stressful time. So, grab your\nphone or tablet and get on FaceTime, I\u2019m sure your old college friends would\nlove to have a game night or watch the latest trending TV show on Netflix!\nMaybe even try transcribing field notes from the 1920s or run a 5K, the possibilities\nfor virtual human connection are endless! <\/p>\n\n\n

Visit our <\/em>website<\/em><\/a> for more information about our homes and floorplans. Feel free to explore our models through our virtual tours and contact the community sales manager with any questions you may have. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re anything like me, this time of solitude and quarantine is driving you crazy! Being confined between the walls of your house can seem daunting and unpredictable. At this point, you\u2019ve probably run out of board games to play, the puzzles are all finished, you\u2019ve re-watched your favorite season of Friends four times, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[201,525,949,1053,1137,1266,1268,1269],"class_list":["post-8331","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-communities","tag-building-happiness","tag-happiness","tag-projectkudos","tag-schellbrothers","tag-stayconnected","tag-virtual-connection","tag-virtual-walk-through","tag-virtualworld"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8331"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9067,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8331\/revisions\/9067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/schellbrothers.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}