Community Corner
Video Chat With a Loved One This Christmas
Video chats are bringing families closer together by allowing them to celebrate, communicate and laugh together even though they could be thousands of miles apart.
Have you ever made a video call? Something that seems like science fiction for any of us who remember dialing a phone is now commonplace. Want some help with your mom's recipe? You can fire up the laptop and have her show you how it is done. Want to show off your new masterpiece or your daughter's recital piece? With video chat you can let the visuals speak for themselves.
In an article in the Dec. 22 New York Times, "Video Chat Reshapes Domestic Rituals,” many examples are given to show how popular personal communication has become using tools such as Skype, Facebook, FaceTime and Google's Hangouts. My favorite is a description of a family joining together over the Internet to celebrate "Skypannukah" with the lighting of the menorah's candles despite being in three different cities.
Video chats can help connect us more than a simple voice call. We can see the smiles that accompany the laughter or see the worry written across our loved ones’ face when they tell us of the struggles in their lives.
It may seem awkward at first to make your first video call, especially getting past the initial technical details, but you quickly get the hang of it. Most of the video chat software is user friendly (each of the links above have instructions). The process is usually just a matter of launching an App or a program with a family member or friend who is using the same program.
In our area, where people face long deployments or far-flung assignments, parents can be a part of their family's life. Grandparents who want to be involved in a toddler's life can see how big their grandchild has grown and make their own faces familiar so that when they do get to visit in person they won't be strangers.
Video calls aren't a replacement for in-person visits. Nothing can replace a warm embrace or a steadying hand. Video calls can bring us closer, though. A video call involves you completely, unlike a voice call where many of us get distracted by multitasking. You give full attention to the conversation and you can see the reaction in each other's faces.
Make 2012 the year when you finally make the leap. Help the more technologically timid get on board and give it a try. Of course, you won't be able to hide that you are in your pajamas. But just because you are on a video call doesn't mean that they will know you have dishes in the sink.