If you’re reading this that means your spring semester on campus has ended, and I am sorry about that. Although you won’t be able to see your friends on campus everyday, there are still many ways to stay in touch with them. Everyone knows you can Facetime or text them, but these methods of communication will get old quicker than you can get your homework done. Social distancing will certainly challenge our relationships, but it doesn’t have to break them.
I think binge-watching is less shameful if you can rope someone else into staring at the screen for hours with you. With Netflix Party and Scener you and your friends can watch Netflix together and have a conversation. Both are Chrome extensions, so they should be easy to install (though my friends and I found a way to make it complicated, but I’m sure you can do better than us).
If you want to hold onto your good penmanship while we transition to online classes for the semester, writing letters to your friends would be a great option. A handwritten letter takes much more effort than a text you could send in seconds, and shows how much you care.
I know classes are still going on, so students will have more than enough reading material, but it could be fun to connect with friends through a scheduled book club. To do this, pick a book, a time to meet virtually, and you’re all set. This will give your group something to talk about and you might even learn something.
If your friends use Spotify to stream music you can share playlists and all add to them. Listening to the same playlist while apart can help you feel more connected, while introducing you to new music from your friends.
A software program commonly used for school, PowerPoint, can also be used for entertainment. Throw a PowerPoint party and assign random topics to your friends to present. It is interesting to see what your friends have to say about silly topics not often discussed in detail. Whatever you do, don’t grade them with a rubric.
Thank you for practicing social distancing!