I have been thinking about how we connect with each other in a digital landscape a lot lately. In many ways we have never been more connected, especially now during Covid. There are so many ways to reach out and see what a stranger is doing across the world from you or to cyber stalk old high school classmates (everyone does it, it is ok to admit). Yet, when we were talking about digitally connecting during our EdCamp talk today every single one of us found it significantly harder to connect now more than ever. We are all missing the energy exchange that comes from being in the same space as other people, we miss the small social cues that come from body language and the ability to wholeheartedly engage with the person in front of you without distraction. I can’t speak for all of my classmates but, for me, it does feel a bit like what happens on zoom isn’t real life. It happens to me like I am watching tv or listening to a podcast. I am listening and can engage but I am also doing other things. In different zoom classes I have made lunch, worked at my day job, scrolled through social media, and more. All things that I would never do in a traditional class setting. It feels like I have permission to be less than fully present because it is all virtual and not “real”. This is a problem though! I am paying good money to connect with and learn from a powerful network of educators and just not getting that human connection. There are obviously behaviours in my self that I can change to get more out of this experience, and hearing from my class mates during EdCamp really helped make that realization. Because we are so insular and just taking class from home I forgot that I have a whole network that is going through the same thing and could potentially have some advice to share. See? Connected but disconnected at the same time!
I found this video about our brain on social distancing and the effects that Covid-19 has had on our mental health and think that keeping this in mind is really important. If we know how our brain is changing we can help ourselves and others cope.
