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How Videoconferencing Is Being Used to Connect During the Pandemic

Amid the stress of the coronavirus outbreak many tech-shy people are changing how they communicate with others

Alistair Berg / Getty Images . We had cocktails, and we watched each other make dinner. After a couple minutes, it was like, “Oh, this is exactly what we always do.” I'd sit at their kitchen bar, watch them cook, and chitchat. It's not all that different except I don't have to comb my hair. —As told to Lexi Pandell Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.

Sandra Bishop 61 Bedford Indiana retired civil servant br

My husband and I live on 40 wooded acres. It's where we raised our twin sons, who are now 29 and youth ministers. It's a peaceful place to be right now, but quiet. I've quickly started to depend on technology for staying connected with my church. The Facebook page of Mt. Pleasant Christian has something going on all the time: There are live services every Sunday. Our pastor does live Q&A's, too. People ask, “What can I do to help? How can I pray?” Others log on to sing and play music, or they . Recently, we all drove to the local hospital, parked two spaces apart, stayed in our cars, turned our flashers on and prayed for the people inside. Mt. Pleasant is getting over a thousand views of each Sunday sermon — much bigger than our congregation — so I know people are looking for answers. Church is a place of comfort and community. This technology shows each of us that we're not the only ones out there. But, wow, when this thing is over, we're all going to get back together and hug tight. —As told to Evelyn Spence Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > The interesting intersection of it all was that some of them knew each other and some of them had no idea who the others were. Some fun stories, anecdotes and questions. Lots of conversation around the virus, how people were coping, a bit about the Seattle public schools, some talk about wine. One of my women friends is at Kaiser Permanente, and she had a lot of data and really understands both the medical story and the physiology. She was great! When we finished the call — the last guest left after about 21/2 hours — I got another glass of wine, started making dinner, and three of the people called to tell me how wonderful it was. There's something about being comfortable in your own environment: It's nonthreatening, easy to control how you look. No traveling. No parking. It felt pretty natural. —As told to Edward C. Baig

Edward Lee 44 Sacramento California physician and Kaiser Permanente s executive vice president of information technology

I went into medicine to take care of patients, to heal people, to comfort people, to promote their well-being. I just didn't know that I would be doing a lot of that through the telephone, video and online messaging. I've been doing telehealth for 15 years, just not at the volume during this crisis. My day is just as busy, but instead of going from exam room to exam room, I go from one telehealth encounter to another. It's a convenient and easy way for patients to access our care. The video is pretty good: I can see them smiling. I can see if they look ill, if they're in pain. At the same time, if there's a more detailed physical examination needed, I won't be able to do that. I can't feel a bump to see if it's hard or soft, I can't give an injection or perform an excision. There's a connection you'd have with a patient when you're physically in the same room, and it can be hard to substitute the degree of empathy you can convey. You can't hold a patient's hand when you deliver a difficult diagnosis. There are some drawbacks, but for more common types of interactions, it works well. —As told to Lexi Pandell Courtesy St. John's Episcopal Church

The Rev Patricia Harris Curtis 68 Sylva North Carolina

I'd never used Zoom before, but since three weeks before Easter, that's how we've held our Sunday services at St. John's Episcopal. I give the service from my office desk, wearing my collar and stole, though I don't wear my alb and chasuble. It's kind of hard to tell from the little squares on the screen what the parish is wearing, but I think of it as come-as-you-are church. I just ask people to prepare a sacred space in their home for the service — a candle, flowers or whatever that means to them. Normally, we always have coffee hour after service, where everyone sits around tables in the parish hall and chatters away. On video chat, everyone can't talk at once, of course, so we go one at a time. People share very touching stories, often from places of pain and anxiety. It's more intentional and more intimate than coffee hour. Isn't that ironic that intimacy might be increased when we're using technology? —As told to Brian Barth More on home-family AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS