Corona Virus - Social Distancing Tips to Stay Connected

The old cliche "reach out and touch someone" has been replaced with "please don't touch," as we try to mitigate the spread of the Corona virus. How do you maintain your close, connected relationships when you have to go hands-free as much as possible? Since my personal relationship with my boyfriend has distance involved, I have become an expert on staying connected even when I can't be in the same room with someone.

Facetime or Skype or any other video chat service gives you the physical cues more than texting or typing. It can be hard to stay close and connected when you can't see the other person. If you do video chatting, it comes in #1 over chat and text should always be in last place for closeness (contrary to popular habits). At least you can actually see if someone is distressed or smiling. You can get the joke much better than an "lol" any day.

Next talking on the phone, which has gone out of fashion, comes in a close second. People text more than they chat on the phone. I think texting gives you an easy "yes" or "no" response, but it's not best for intimacy or closeness (again, many beg to differ these days).

Set scheduled chat or video times. Even if you're both staying at home to work or not working, try and schedule time to chat and stay close. When my boyfriend was out of the country in a different time zone, we had scheduled talk times. It's good so you don't miss each other or interrupt the other person.

You can "carry" the person around with you -- not that you're going anywhere. If you're talking on the phone, carry the phone around and just have a casual conversation, as if that person were really with you. It's a nice way to give your relationship more of a sense of domesticity and connection.

Messaging and texting come last on the list, because for most people it only appeals to one sense, sight. The other senses aren't be stimulated. Now I can hear voices when I read texts (claireaudient), but I don't recommend it. I've gotten into many misunderstandings using Messaging services.