Anari Hagel: When Isolation Unites

The first full week since the declaration of the state of emergency has passed with ups and downs. The spread of the virus is expanding and the news feed is mostly negative. We talk about saving companies and losing jobs. There is a lot of anxiety to go around. At the same time, there are many surprisingly positive developments going on in the areas of social communication.

The way people communicate and seek contact with one one another through digital channels has seen much criticism in the last decade. Much is talked about how young people "only sit behind the computer" and "no longer go outside". The reason is the ever-deepening digital world, which has a lot of exciting things to offer.

I, too, have isolated myself into my comfort zone and completely taken over communication with people via text messaging through social networking applications. Of course, I also meet my parents and friends face-to-face, but the meeting time is agreed and the quick exchange of information in between is still done through messaging. Calling another person at a completely random moment without agreeing beforehand almost seems rude.

Even though I'm in a two-week quarantine at home, I'm working full sail and far from getting bored. Nevertheless, I have been more social than average, without violating any quarantine requirements while doing so. We are witnessing a shift in the way people communicate with each other. Put into extreme isolation, we are thirsting for a more genuine human contact than text messaging. The video-channels normally used for professional purposes have been taken over for social interactions.

On Friday night, I attended a live DJ session broadcasted with a video of a room, where people would normally be dancing, but this time the DJ was alone. The participants communicated in the form of comments and it felt as if I was actually there. On Saturday I had an early dinner via Zoom.us video meeting with Estonian friends and later the same with foreign friends. On Sunday, we shared breakfast over WhatsApp with my family and had pre-dinner snacks with friends from abroad. People do flash mobs around the world where they join each other on their windows or balconies for activities, like singing a song or playing instruments. For those who miss going to trainings, live sessions are provided via social media.