Being Social at a Distance - Houseparty

Isolation in an effort to prevent spread of the coronavirus continues and I find myself doing things I wouldn’t normally do. Many are taking the time to catch up on things they have always put off or to spend quality times with family. Personally, it made me realise that commuting and busy work life schedules has changed my levels of interactions with people around me. Social distancing has ironically given people time to be social, albeit via virtual mediums. It’s a social occasion nonetheless that is powered by technology and connectivity. Coping with the daily indoor life has been much easier, there are places in the world that are imposed under curfews and lockdown with crowds of people sharing a single room. I’m truly grateful for what I have and I’ve realised that during this difficult times, our care and connection for one another is very important.

In a period where we can’t go outside, people around the world are organizing virtual concerts, pub quizzes and conference parties via online services. The internet is feeling the surge and companies have responded accordingly. A friend of mine got me onto Houseparty, a face to face social network that’s a little more personal. Some people don’t have the convenience or time to go face to face in group calls but in such a situation, coordinating a virtual hangout is much easier than it’s ever been. The main pull of Houseparty to me was its ease of use. Video conferences have been a pain to setup and coordinate between people in the past, let alone having fun online together. Houseparty packages video conferencing with social elements including some easy to play games. It’s multi-platform too.

People are inside, some alone. Hanging out with friends online has been a great way to catch up with people I’ve sort of lost touch with. School friends, distant relatives and many others in my social circle were on the platform and it was very easy to find and connect with them. I would say that it isn’t quite the replacement for group chats and messaging services but for a video social service, I enjoyed using it during the current state of events. If you’ve not play “Heads Up” before, Houseparty has its own version and its great fun and I didn’t think I would be able to play this online with my friends. The games are limited but are a good addition to an easy to use platform. There are a number of other apps that are seeing increased usage while much of the world waits out the epidemic. I’ll try to explore some more, it will be interesting to see if the apps see continuous usage post crisis.

Check out Houseparty here: https://houseparty.com/

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