Tech & Media|Technology

Social Distancing? 11 Tech Tools to Stay Connected

It seems as if social distancing is here to stay for a while, considering how the COVID-19 positive numbers are increasing daily. Since protecting the wellbeing and health of your loved ones and yourself too is the priority right now, limiting physical interaction is the best for now.

But you don’t need to feel isolated at all while you are social distancing. Thankfully, technology has equipped us with some great apps that make connecting with family and friends so easy and hassle-free. Let’s look at them below:

1.    FaceTime

If you’re an Apple device user, then you have FaceTime to make social-distancing easier for you. With this app, you can call people around the world and can hold conversations with one to thirty-two people at a time.

You can either use a cellular connection or an internet connection to work this app. Both video and audio calls work incredibly on this app.

2.    Google Duo

Google Duo is an excellent video conferencing platform. You make live video calls or send video messages to one or eight contacts at a time.

3.    Snapchat

Make your social-distancing more fun with Snapchat’s augmented images and app features. With this app, you can make both video phone calls and send standard texts too.

4.    WhatsApp

With WhatsApp, you can make unlimited video and audio calls and send text messages and audio messages. What’s more, you have the option of shipping documents and files over the app too.

5.    Zoom

Since the spread of Coronavirus, Zoom, which was once a solely business conferencing tool, emerged as a popular video chat option. This app has a forty-minute limit for your sessions and particular privacy concerns too.

6.    Skype

Once you have a Skype account, you can send messages, videos, documents messages to your Skype contacts. This app also allows you to have video and phone calls, even on landline numbers.

7.    Netflix Party

Cant hangout at the cinema with your friends and family anymore? No problem!

With a Netflix party, you can watch movies with your friends together. This app synchronizes playback with group chat, but you can only use it in chrome browsers on laptops and desktops.

8.    Marco Polo

Many of your loved ones may be living far away, in time zones vastly different from yours. If live chatting is not possible for you, Marco Polo gives you the option of leaving video voicemails. Since your messages go in-store on the cloud, users can view them as many times as they wish to.

9.    Quarantine Chat

Quarantine Chat helps you make new friends even if social distancing does not allow you to step out. This app is a pen pal, in which you receive calls randomly from strangers. Strike up a conversation with a stranger if you please and see if he/she is good enough for friendship.

10.  Steam

This is an online gaming service with more than thirty thousand video games, social features, and ninety-million active users. You can send in-game messages with this app or have a voice chat too. You can play together with four friends at a time here.

11.   TikTok

You can continue to entertain family and friends all through social distancing with TikTok. This app allows you to send 15-seconds long fun videos with hilarious effects.