Are we connected?

New semester, new students! We are starting off in an odd situation: we are home. We learn from home and we do not really see anyone else. Is it possible to form the same kind of connection with your classmates via the internet? The possibilities for that are huge now that we can use video calls on many platforms, but something might still be missing. Studying from distance may also bring its own challenges.

It is so much easier to just isolate yourself from others and not think about it a lot when we are studying from home. It does not help that the only contact we get with our peers is through teamwork in small groups that stay the same for the most part. During classes, contact is still minimal, and we do not see or hear others that much. We don’t really get the same impression of others through internet, because there is so much that’s left unshown. We can’t see the same kind of body language that would normally help us make an impression of someone.

Group work is harder from distance, there is just something missing from it. You just don’t get the same kind of contact with your team as you would when you are face-to-face. Even though we are connecting in a way, are we truly connected with each other? It is possible to connect with someone over the internet, but that takes a lot more time than just group work, but we simply just might not have the time. The connection with our teachers is also different, they can’t see us for the most part and communicating with them might be harder than usual. It just doesn’t feel the same as it would if we were in a classroom.

Will it be weird when we finally meet? We might come across different when we are used to showing minimal parts of ourselves through videocalls and texting. There might be some nervousness in the air, and everyone might be a little on edge. Everything would once again be new. I think we all are eager to get back to normal classes and seeing people outside of the family and some fiends. If we all work together, we can hopefully beat the virus and get together again.