When I first started my Gratitude Project, I debated whether to write about my gratitude for technology. I’m fully aware of the drawbacks, but from my seat in quarantine, I’m developing a new appreciation for tech.
As we’re all discovering, self-isolation is wholly different when you have the option to Zoom, FaceTime, or Skype. From Zoom office meeting to Zoom family dinners and Zoom cocktail parties, there are many occasions to connect, actually see and hear.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but I’m finding remote conferencing a pretty good substitute. As a friend of mine reminded me, if you can have phone sex, you can definitely be empathetic and transmit emotions through Zoom or even on the phone. You just have to tune in and make yourself open to it.
Alexa, though she may be spying on us, is another useful tool. Everyone is in the kitchen at some point in the day, and she helps us all balance work and home life. She keep tabs for us on when to start making dinner, when to get ready for the next phone call, when to turn off the rice. We’re all getting better at using Alexa to deliver the specific reminders we need as the day stretches out before us.
In so many ways, apps and sites keep me productive with work, entertainment, and the day-to-day tasks of keeping up the house. My smart dishwasher can do a half-load after lunch. My smart phone keeps me in touch with my friends through social media. Amazon and many smaller sites fill up my pantry between trips to the grocery store. Netflix and Hulu keep us informed and entertained.
Sure, social media can isolate us in our own rabbit holes, but it can also bring us together. The trick is resist the clickbait and tune down noise from the outside world. Instead focus on what your friends and family are actually doing or saying, and what is going on with the people around you here and now. You’ll find yourself discovering long lost cousins, high-school classmates, and others with a lot of love, laughs, and life to offer.