Bhubaneswar, March 30: Due to the lockdown declared by government and its strict implementation by the authority, people are staying indoors to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. Social media, especially video calls are the new ways to ‘hang out’.
Many people are spending their days chatting with friends for long hours on video chat. This is how they are spending time with close friends despite being away from them. According to reports, Facebook group calls soar by 1,000% during the lockdown report said.
Even Duo, Google’s Android video calling app, has decided to increase the maximum number of participants in video conference calls. The maximum number of people to make conference calls was eight earlier, which has been increased to 12 now.
Also, telecom giants including Reliance Jio, Vodafone-Idea and Airtel have increased per day internet data in existing plans, which helps in extended video calls.
Jayanta Rout, who is under lockdown in Texas, America, is talking to his friends in Odisha through video-chat. He said, “Video chat is the only option left through which I can see my friends and family in India sitting in USA.”
Alok Kumar Lal of Cuttack who uses the Google Duo often said that the decision to increase the number of participants in video calls had helped in bringing more and more people together and helps users to not feel lonely.
Aditya Kumar a medical student said Lockdown is for our safety and fight against the pandemic. But locking in home for so many days makes our mental condition weaker day by day. It’s not easy to stay in home for such a long period of time. Video calls help us to interact with our friends. Some time a little period of video call makes you fresh from inside.
Many people, who are now working from home, also use the apps to hold virtual meetings. It helps colleagues stay connected.
Arindam Ganguly, OP