Staying connected with your friends and family during isolation can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.

Dr. Adam Gutschmidt, adjunct instructor for the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences, has taken a variety of measures to stay connected with those close to him.

In an effort to keep in touch with friends, Gutschmidt has found some activities for them to share virtually.

Using Zoom, Gutschmidt and his group of friends have shared a “virtual beer.”

Zoom is a popular platform for video communications, and one of the many possible options for communicating with family or friends via technology.

“We also found an app that allowed us to play Euchre together virtually,” said Gutschmidt. “With another group of friends, we played Mario Kart together online and at the same time spoke with each other using Google Hangouts.”

Skype is another popular application used to make video calls. With his parents, Gutschmidt has played board games, like Scattergories, via Skype.

To play together, they each use their own copy of the game and share their answers over the video chat.

Another technological tool that can be used to stay connected is an app called Marco Polo.

This app was created to help people stay in touch.

It allows you to send quick messages back and forth. It’s basically like leaving someone a video voicemail.

FaceTime is always an option as well, of course.

Utilizing the vast amount of technology available to us is one great way to keep in touch with those who you are missing.

Even besides technology, face-to-face connection is still possible with the practice of social distancing.

In some instances, groups have been seen gathered in parking lots to hang out while remaining in their own cars. As long as you are staying 6-feet-apart, this kind of socializing is still possible.

Gutschmidt has found some ways of his own to see his family while still remaining safe.

“For Easter, I drove over to my parents’ house and sat in my car while I watched my nieces and nephews hunt for eggs in the front yard,” said Gutschmidt. “Everyone stayed a safe distant apart, but we were still able to communicate with each other and enjoy each other’s company.”

Gutschmidt’s sister, who lives down the street from him, will still bring her kids over to his house.

“I open up my garage so they have access to the toys that I have in my garage,” said Gutschmidt. “Then I will watch them play in my front yard from my window so that I can still talk to them.”

Gutschmidt has found many ways to stay connected with his friends and family, both virtually and face-to-face.

It’s important for all of us to maintain our personal relationships during this time in whatever ways we can, while following the social distancing guidelines to keep ourselves and others safe.