text: Getting through social distancing: How you can stay safe, and yet stay connected | The News Minute
  Getting through social distancing: How you can stay safe, and yet stay connected
  Social distancing could make you feel lonely, affect your mental health and present obstacles to your career and relationships. There are some simple things that you can do, however, to make the best of all this time spent at home.
  Tuesday, March 24, 2020 - 20:38
  Having to confine your entire life to the boundaries of your home comes with its own pros and cons. For Shreya Rao, a merchandising executive in Bengaluru, it is deeply upsetting. "My husband had been away for work and now he can't get home for a while. I'm living with my 4-year-old daughter and my in-laws. We're just trying to stay calm and stay healthy for now," she says.
  Shreya is still working, coordinating orders from home. She's also helping her daughter stay mentally and physically active. She and her husband stay in touch as best they can through text messages and video calls. Using the technology that we have is the first and best way to stay connected and stay safe during isolation. But it's not as simple as that, here are a few ways you can do that.
  1. Schedule catch-up sessions with your loved ones
  Being separated from loved ones during a difficult time can take its toll, but it is important to use what is available to you to stay in touch. Frequent calls and simple text conversations are the very basics. Make sure you keep your phones recharged and chalk out the time to speak to each other. What would really make a difference is a video call with your loved ones. They make you feel connected to each other.
  To stay connected, it is important that your phones stay recharged always. Recharge online with the Airtel Thanks app. Using this app, you can keep a track of the talk-time and data balance on your own phone and that of your loved ones, and recharge them online within a few seconds.
  Don't let distance set you apart, stay connected with the Airtel Thanks app. With the Airtel Thanks app, you can recharge online within a few moments.
  2. Sync your entertainment plans
  Watch TV shows along with your friends at the same time, even if you are apart. Syncing up with your friends to have a watchparty is a great way to connect with them. You can just schedule a time through texts and all hit the Play button at the same time, it's that simple, and leads to a bonding experience that can keep loneliness completely at bay.
  And if one of your friends has run out of data on their phone? Be nice and recharge their phone, and you don't have to go to the store for it. Use the Airtel Thanks app, and here is how easy it is to recharge on the app:
  3. Find togetherness through music
  Many communities and neighborhoods, like the ones in Shreya's building, are coming up with ways to foster togetherness without actually having to meet. Syncing a time for everyone to come out to their balconies or terraces to sing and play devotional hymns or feel-good songs together can provide a beautiful replacement for the activity of going to a place to pray. Balcony meditation or yoga sessions can also help in keeping you spiritually and mentally healthy together in this time.
  If there is someone in your neighborhood, like an old couple, who need to recharge their DTH but doesn't know how to it online, help them out! The Airtel Thanks app also enables you to recharge Airtel DTH accounts, of yours and others.
  4. Track news on credible news sites and social channels
  Staying connected with the news and the state of global health is paramount to ensure that social distancing doesn't make you feel alone. The WHO has launched a messaging alert that would ping subscribers on Whatsapp and Facebook with health updates. Following trusted news sources and government officials on social media and staying updated through their feeds also helps.
  5. Use the Internet to Stay on top of work and school
  There are countless e-learning options to keep the brain active and education unhindered during isolation, from online community learning activities to streaming entire classes. Working from home is also completely possible now that most companies are largely online.
  And finally, you could also give yourself the permission to disconnect. You don't need to be online, on a call, or working all the time. Use the time to relax with yourself. "Even if I feel distant from my husband, I do like the fact that I am getting a few moments to myself now after a really long time," Shreya says.
  To keep your recharges safe and quick, recharge on the Airtel Thanks app, where there are also options for entertainment that can help you stay connected as well.