How to lead an active social life from the comfort of your own home

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we’re able to connect with people all over the globe without even needing to leave our homes.

Some have mused that such a phenomenon is causing a ‘loneliness epidemic’, while for others who find themselves working from home remotely, the loss of the traditional watercooler moments has also had an impact upon the social interactions they are having on a daily basis.

However, there are still plenty of ways that you can enjoy an active social life even if you find yourself spending more time at home – it simply takes effort, connectivity, and an open mind to fill your spare time with hobbies and interests that can be enjoyed with others remotely.

Community spirit

Most of us have access to tech that facilitates social interactions online. Whether via your smartphone, tablet or laptop, apps such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp enable us to connect with friends, family and acquaintances from the comfort of the sofa.

So, while we may not be in the same room as them, we can still enjoy their company through video streaming on our devices, which in turn opens the door to numerous ‘community’ activities that we can engage in from home.

Quizzing is one particularly popular form of remote social interaction. Assign a quizmaster in your group or take it in turns asking the questions – it doesn’t really matter. You’ll have a great laugh, earn some cool points (if you/your team wins) and perhaps even learn some new things along the way.

Hosting a weekly or monthly quiz is a fantastic way of engaging with your ‘community’ of friends and family. It’s easy to set up, low cost and requires only a modicum of pre-planning in sourcing some questions.

You can also turn to gaming as a social hobby that you can enjoy from home. Titles such as Fortnite, Call of Duty and GTA have huge online communities, so you can meet your existing friends there or, of course, make new ones altogether. For more gentle surroundings, try Minecraft, Roblox and World of Warcraft.

Online casinos are also creating message boards and in-game interactions that enable players to swap notes on a particular game or simply shoot the breeze. The barriers to entry are incredibly low – simply signing up for an account is enough to get started, while welcome bonuses give new players a chance to learn the ropes with free spins, deposit bonuses and more perks besides.

These are just some of the ways that you can connect – or reconnect – with your friends and family virtually, without the need to leave your home.

Meeting new people

It’s easy to consolidate existing friendships remotely, but what about forging new ones?

This is more difficult, of course, but it can become much easier when you’re willing to take yourself out of your comfort zone. One of the easiest ways to do so is to join an online class of some description – it could be anything from studying a new language to learning a new skill such as knitting, sewing or creative writing.

Online exercises classes have also become increasingly popular with those who don’t enjoy the gym environment, or who can’t afford a membership. And, after you’ve worked up a sweat, how about virtual cooking or cocktail-making classes? You can improve your wellbeing at home, physically and mentally, while maintaining your social life.

The idea here is that you create bonds with others through your shared experiences, which may in turn lead to WhatsApp groups and the like in which you discuss your progress and laugh about things that you’re finding difficult on the course.

This is a concept that can be applied to online reading groups or Netflix watch parties, where again, your shared experience (discussing the content you’ve just consumed together) can lead to further social interactions and friendships forming.

According to the dictionary, a social interaction is a “process where two or more people influence one another through verbal and non-verbal communication”. So, why would you need to be in the same room as somebody else in order to interact with them?

As long as you have some kind of technology and an open mind, you can enjoy a fulfilling social calendar without even needing to get changed out of your dressing gown.

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