Social distancing: How to Kill Time Without Killing Others?
Under the quarantine, our whole species has been advised, if not ordered, to stay indoors to decrease the spread of CoViD-19 that is relatively weak, but highly contagious. Introverted people are naturally inclined to stay home, but not all people are as willing to sit down and stay in one place without going stir-crazy. Here are some things you can all do to pass the time under quarantine.
Flash Games are still alive and kicking until the end of the year, so if you have any nostalgia for hopping onto a free online game website and playing certain games straight from your browser, then do so! It costs nothing and is fun to find and explore new and old games. Some older games, such as Atari’s Battlezone, Asteroids, and Tempest, are also free to play straight off usually reputable websites and will bring you to the ancient days of gaming.
Newer games are easily available too, with new releases and bargain sales all around to purchase online to your PC or game console with the latest graphics and intricate stories. There are a variety of ways to keep your mind occupied, to either learn new skills and test your response times against threats in older, simpler games, or lose yourself in new and unique worlds that can amaze you.
If you don’t want to work at a game anymore and want to watch a story complete itself, and you’ve already read every book in your house, then there are dozens of video and streaming services that allow massive amounts of people to watch brand new shows and movies or beloved classic films and seasons from big producers. You only need to pay a fair-priced subscription fee to access their huge online libraries.
Other things we can often watch are amateur videos uploaded to well-known, free-to-watch websites to see what others are doing: fixing their cars and homes, experimenting with new foods, remixing music to various unique styles, and more! Informative or humorous videos from everyday people can be a way of feeling like there is still community around you.
If you wish your friends could join you in this community, there are online services that allow you to stream videos from your browser to your friend’s computers for free, so you can all watch together, even if you are miles apart. Other socializing unaffected by social distancing can be done through communication apps, where you can talk freely and create fun ideas and future plans to pass the time; such as a dance-off, truth or dare, and other social games people can play over the phone or other webcam-equipped devices.
You could even try learning new things as a group, such as teaching each other to cook new foods or create new things like art or sculpture, sharing in each other’s interests and hobbies.
However, if you don’t feel like that is keeping you active enough, or if the screen time is just too much of a strain on your eyes, there are hundreds of options to exercise your mind and body at home or in your backyard. Listening to physical trainers and instructors giving home exercises over the TV, tablet, or other electronic devices can allow you to feel as though your body is more awake and alive.
The intensity of their exercises varies widely, allowing you to start comfortably and work your way up in any discipline. Exercising in your yard or in front of a large window can wash you in the fresh air and sunlight to help you feel less confined. If you haven’t already done so, you can even find therapy in cleaning, fixing, and rearranging their homes, the accomplishment of a task well-done can fill you with satisfaction.
We all may be limited in our ability to travel, but even with the basic luxuries of the modern era, there is an amazing pool of resources for our minds to stay sharp and our bodies to stay in shape. Have hope and count your blessings, for we are living in a time where quarantine doesn’t have to be a world-stopping phenomenon.
Image courtesy: Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.com; Aron Visuals, Clark Tibbs and Becca Tapert on Unsplash.com
About the author: Robert Wich is a tutor at Full Potential Learning Academy, where he teaches English, Elementary School Math, Middle School Math, KeyMath-3 Program, Pre-Algebra, Algebra-1, SAT, ACT, PERT, HSPT test prep programs. In his spare time, you can find him tinkering with his truck.