It’s taken a pandemic to show us we’re not as connected as we thought we were.
In this age of social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Zoom and tiktok, constant access by mobile phone, text and email — that were all created to keep us “connected” — it turns out the connection we still crave most is face-to-face, live human interaction.
Friday, our family took advantage of the sunshine to go on a little bike adventure around town. Our route took us near some friends, so we decided to do a pop-in.
Remember spontaneous pop-ins?
They used to be a neighbourhood stand-by, then people got busy, acquired cellphones as well as email and now every interaction in our lives has to be scheduled three days out.
But in the time of COVID-19, and everyone hunkered down at home, the pop-in has become possible again — with physical distancing protocols in place, of course.
When our visit concluded — as at the curb, them on their stoop — we pedalled home, energized and engaged.
Partly it was being able to hear about our friends’ ongoing plans to embark on a year-long sabbatical in the south of France. But mostly it was good to catch up with someone other than ourselves, share notes about our common experiences of these pandemic times, exchange intelligence about grocery runs and the latest erosions of our normal routines.
Saturday, on an extended bike ride, I saw plenty of others doing the same, neighbours visiting across yards, greetings being exchanged from sidewalks to balconies, groups of young people perched on the hoods of their cars parked in a big circle in the middle of a parking lot. It felt like riding through an idealized version of suburban life, circa 1955.
Sunday, we convened a gathering of our own, inviting some friends and neighbours to meet us in the expansive courtyard of our condo complex. Seated in a big circle we polled each other’s Netflix discoveries, talked about Easter dinner plans and, of course, traded grocery information.
For two hours the troubles and anxieties of the past few weeks, as well as the hard road of uncertainty ahead, seemed to lift a bit. There was comfort in hearing our shared worries, and glimmers of hope in our occasional triumphs.
But mostly it was good to be back in the company of other humans, without the sharp, furtive glances that warn to keep your distance, or detached by pixelated streaming images over the phone or laptop.
How are you maintaining your human connections? Let us know.
