Items

• 
  2020-06-06

  Fandom spaces forming international friendships during a pandemic 2020

  Due to the difficulty of making friends in person due to covid, I increasingly turned to online fandom spaces to find people with similar interests to me. The follow screenshot is from a tumblr group chat confirming the first international fan based Zoom call which I was part of in June 2020. CST refers to Central Standard Time, the timezone which encompasses countries of Central and parts of Eastern Europe. This was my first experience talking to people from overseas that shared similar interests to me on a video call. It lead to me join multiple groups across platforms such as discord to communicate further. It was the beginning of me gaining more international friends which have been a really important part of keeping an active social life during this pandemic. It was also an eye opening experience to hear first hand accounts of how people around the world were living through this global pandemic.
• 
  2021-08-01

  Messenger Video Call Screenshot - HIST30060

  During each of the lockdowns the popular way for my friends and I to stay in touch was through video calls to each other on the Facebook messenger app. Pictured here is myself and four other friends on a Saturday night all talking to each other. Two of the participants were wearing suits as they had previously attended a video call for a football presentation. It was not uncommon for people to jump in and out of calls as the calls themselves could last a number of hours.
• 
  2020-03-28T19:52

  Technology Fun During Pandemic

  The photo I am submitting is a screenshot of a Facebook video call with a few of my family members. My family has always been very close. We are a loud and very big Puerto Rican family that enjoys our get togethers as much as possible. Over the last few years, people have scattered about the country, making it harder for all of us to get together. One things this pandemic enabled us to do was to communicate and gather together via online video platforms. As my aunts and uncle turned to facetime and facebook video calling in order to check in on my cousins and I, it actually gave us room to gather more than we had been pre-covid. When the world move to technology and zooms to bridge the gap of human face-to-face interaction, people got closer while being further apart.
• 
  2020-07-19

  14 Working from Home Memes That Are Hilariously Accurate

  Humor is one of the best ways to deal with stressful situations, such as working from home. This collection of memes take a humorous look at the teleworking lifestyle.
• 2021-01-14

  Online learning

  This is how my life was during online learning. I normally would wake up at around 7:50, I feel tired and exhausted and not motivated to do anything, I just want to go back to sleep. I do my first class and then have breakfast. My breakfast gives me some energy but not that much. I then just finish the rest of my classes and then have lunch and do homework. When i was going online school it just felt that life was on repeat, like there was no other thing I could do. I wouldn’t see any friends which made me feel that I had to talk to people a lot so I would video call people all the time after class, but I wouldn’t see them in person like normal. I never was motivated to do online school and only did it since it was school. I just felt tired, I was annoyed that I couldn't see any of my friends and I just felt constrained to my computer, as if I was locked in my room and I had nowhere else to go. Some of the benefits of online learning was the fact that I would be able to travel to another state and then still be able to do school like everyone else. Also I was able to make my schedule however I wanted it to be since I was online. I also liked the fact that I could get closer with my family since I was with them stuck in the house for a long time. So there are a good amount of benefits of online learning, but going to school on campus is way better, believe me.
• 
  2020-10-06

  「オンライン診療」コロナ禍特例→“恒常化”へ(2020年10月9日) - "Online diagnosis/check-up " Exception for Corona → To "normalized" (October 9, 2020)

  オンライン診療が初診から解禁される見通しです。 　オンライン診療は新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を防ぐために現在、特例的に初診であっても認められています。田村厚生労働大臣は8日に平井デジタル改革大臣と河野規制改革大臣と会談し、感染の収束後も安全性と信頼性を確保したうえで、初診も含めてオンライン診療を認める方向で合意したということです。テレビ電話など映像があることが原則となります。オンライン診療を巡っては、医療の質に影響が出ると日本医師会が慎重な姿勢を示していました。 Online medical care/diagnosis is expected to be used from the first visit. Using online medical care/diagnosis for the first visit is currently only permitted for special instances to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection. Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Tamura met with Minister of Digital Reform Hirai and Minister of Regulatory Reform Kono on the 8th, and agreed to allow online medical care including the first medical diagnosis after ensuring safety and reliability even after the infection has resolved. As a general rule, there should be camera and ways to do video calls. The Japan Medical Association has been cautious about online medical care, saying that it will affect the quality of medical care.
• 
  2020-10-06

  A Muted Rosh Hashanah

  Every year, I attend the High Holy Day services at Temple Agudas Achim with my mother. The services are long, emotionally exhausting, and beautiful; this is when the shofar (a ram’s horn) is blown. This year would have been slightly different because the Rosh Hashanah began on Shabbat, but the High Holidays were also impacted by Covid-19. Instead of meeting in person with the entire congregation - hundreds of people, most of whom I don’t see throughout the year - the services were held via Zoom. Because many of my congregation avoid technology on holy days, there were less than 50 people participating in this year’s services. Rather than 3 hours long, services this year lasted about an hour. When the shofar was blown, it was heard through a computer screen, which failed to capture the awe-inducing power of the horn. As someone with ADHD, the High Holidays are usually tough for me. I struggle to focus during the long services, becoming fidgety after an hour. In the past, my mother and I have celebrated the holidays privately, attending a retreat, or simply spending the day together at home. When we celebrate this way, I can draw on my tablet - drawing has always been a source of comfort and focus for me. In the temple, multi-tasking is frowned upon, as it is seen as disrespectful and sacrilegious. Yet recognizing the holidays this way is unfulfilling for my mother - she misses the community of our temple and yearns for the sound of the shofar. Because of Covid-19, we both got a little of our preferred way to worship. Watching the live stream and participating via Zoom allowed my mother to re-connect with temple members whom she had missed. Yes, the meeting was lacking in many ways, but it was better than not attending at all. I was able to stay off-screen, listening to the service while drawing. It was during the service that I drew the image I titled “A Muted Rosh Hashanah”, which depicts a young girl attempting to blow a shofar through a protective mask. With this drawing, I hoped to convey the beauty and passion of the shofar, as well as the pain and longing that the pandemic and social distancing has caused.
• 
  2020-04-11

  Group Video Phone Call – Northborough, Massachusetts

  My parents joined by up to 20 other Deaf friends form a massive group Video Phone call all simultaneously using American Sign Language to communicate. There are no overlapping voices to make it impossible to communicate, and the calls last hours on end. My parents and other Deaf people have used this technology for years but are seeing its use become invaluable during the pandemic.
• 2020-05-19

  Untitled

  The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of many people. In my case, this has affected me in my education in different ways. First, universities and colleges had to close. I used to go to college four days a week, so my routine changed completely. Now with the spread of COVID-19, I have to stay home because it is safer and also help to stop the spread. I have to admit, I was enjoying being home, but after a few days I was easily bored. Second, students who planned to graduate this spring semester may have a very different graduation. I heard that the university is planning some surprises for them, but I am sure they would rather have a "normal" graduation. I was pretty sure the summer classes would be online, but I didn't think about having the fall semester online too. I agree and disagree with the college’s decision to plan the fall classes online. I think it is a good idea to avoid future spread. However, I also think that maybe it may be an exaggeration, but my sister always says: "I don't believe in this virus, but just in case I protect myself." This epidemic has some good things. In my case, I am using my extra time to cook healthier foods and I have even experimented with new recipes. I have more time to talk to my loved ones. My grandmother can now make video calls. My sister can spend more time with her son. I am planning to learn something new when the semester ends. I hope to be able to travel with my mother to Mexico and see my family. I would like to be with them in this difficult time. Our planet Earth has also benefited from this virus because it now has less pollution. My advice to get over this virus is to stay home and follow the rules.
• 
  2020-04-28

  Family Houseparty call

  as a way of staying close with friends many people have been utilizing group video calling services such as Facetime, zoom, skype and houseparty during this call it was the first time in about two years that I have talked to my cousin because he lives in Miami which goes to show that there are still a few positives even right now as things are mostly negative.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Before and After

  N/A
• 
  2020-05-06

  Mama, cómo se apaga la videollamada?

  Small child walks in asking mom how to turn off the video call. This meme captures the idea that sometimes as a parent we let our kid have a bit more access to devices than usual, letting them make video calls to friends and family. This lets them maintain their connections to the outside world, but it also means they're not totally able to handle all the technology.