For many of us; the idea of being confined to our homes seemed manageable until a few weeks or even a few hours revealed just how much we missed the interactions we took for granted. According to Carlyn Beccia there’s a psychological reason we’re inclined to break the rules of social distancing but in an attempt to save ourselves and those around us; we’ve managed to reshape our world in ways that would meet our needs for connection and interaction.

A large part of entertainment is the immersive experience. Museums around the world have embraced virtual reality – from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. You can virtually walk through the galleries all from the comfort of your home.

Outside of the context of social distancing; VR can solve the problem of accessibility for the differently abled and provide a better visitor experience across various platforms.

There’s no shortage of digital management systems for schools – Google Classroom, Schoology, Edmodo, Homeroom, and Apple’s Classroom all provide similar functionality in sustaining an online learning environment. However, online learning has faced perception challenges from both educators and learners. According to Babson Survey Research Group, just 29.1% of academic leaders report that their faculty accept the “value and legitimacy” of online education. In a time of social distancing schools had no choice but to turn to these platforms. Advocates for distance learning rejoiced in the improvements to online learning that this time has brought about with teachers, students and parents seeing the benefits of a well implemented system. In time; the user experience of these platforms can be better tailored to the needs of educators making the online classroom the new playground for student centered learning.

Michael Laitman aptly wrote “Getting separate, Growing closer”, refering to deeper connections made during self-isolation. That is exactly what the time apart did for many of us. People reached out to their community of friends, family and co-workers, redefining these “long distance relationships”. From birthdays to baby showers, milestone events were celebrated using surprisingly simple websites that mimicked the real deal. Religious services hosted streaming events in a time where large gatherings were forbidden and provided a lifeline for people in need of that connection. Twitch, home to many gaming livestreams gave way to other events like cooking and fitness livestreams. And just like that, we adapted and overcame.

The time spent indoors may have been fruitless for some, but this may just have been the start of the digital renaissance. In isolation we were able to reshape digital spaces and find new ways to fuel our productivity and entertainment.

Leave a comment, what are some digital experiences you encountered while social distancing.

Creating digital experiences in a time of social distancing was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.