In this strange context, people are more then ever becoming social.

As Quarantine has started about four weeks ago, we have all been stuck at home, without permission to go outside. But in addition to not simply being able to go outside, life has stopped, no more gyms, no more radio shows, no more filming movies, no more church, no more concerts, no more cinema... a lot of our daily lives has vanished.

On the contrary, this has enabled us to share with each other more than we ever have. One could think this could have been the beginning of solitude, isolation and boredom.

However, even though social media generates much hate (as we have seen in a previous article written by our team member: https://ninonbarou-laforie.wixsite.com/thesociologs/post/we-all-hate-on-each-other-too-easily, it can also bring about a sense of unity and together-ness.

Society likes to stay grounded, and to stay grounded the human needs to keep on going exactly the way he/she/none was before. I will with you explore all the different activities that have been created due to quarantine.

It turns out people, feel good and want to share anything they are good at, if it ends up helping others.

People have taken the opportunity to use social media as they never have before. With the help of "Instagram live" and stories, people are able to reach a wider audience than ever. It is easy as people get a notification on their phone about anyone they follow. People have daily opportunities to continue living their lives as normal, while staying indoors.

I will give a couple of examples of how society has developed and adapted to this new world we are living in today.

Religiously speaking, people didn't think they would not be able to go to church on sundays or go to the temple on weekdays. However, this has stopped as well.

This was a photo taken on March 18, 2020 of the Al-Haram Mosque and the Kaaba at Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Due to the rules needed to be applied to face the virus, people aren't able to go to places they used to.

This is what the Mecca looks like normally:

This is what the Mecca looks like today:

Just yesterday for Easter, the Pope Francis gave the Easter service in an empty basilica:

Just yesterday as well, for the Easter service, priests got creative. In the city of Arras, the priest Nicolas Van Lathem climbed on the roof of his Church Saint-Jean-Baptiste, so that the buildings surrounding the church could benefit from the service.

In the United States, an Easter Service was held by a priest on an stage while people came through by car:

Nonetheless, people have taken over the media platforms in order to continue within their religious practices. All over the world, on television, Youtube, through Instagram... all Easter Services were re-transmitted with the hashtag #virtualchurch being created. The Vatican even has its own social network.

On the same tones as spiritual quest, many are sharing about their workouts, their athletic achievements or again them passing time and playing games with the children.

The Adidas and Nike training app have also enabled people to have premium access to their apps and workout for 3 months for free due to quarantine. This has pushed many people to continue moving and helped with motivation. There are also "Live" workouts where trainers propose a full workout for whoever wants to join. This keeps us connected and together in these difficult times.

In addition, France 3 has a daily live workout at 10:30 AM everyday for people who want to follow.

Musicians have initiated a new way of sharing music, through social media, at the same time as others. Caroline de Maigret known for her modeling and writing career is dating a musician, Yarol Poupaud, whom she is confined with. They have organised a fun way to keep busy:

They do a live set at 10:30PM every evening where they ask the people watching the live what song they want to listen to, and the musicians try and play it :)

A fun and entertaining way to keep practicing music.

Burger King has created a perfect ad for keeping mouths happy.

They first came out with a poster like version of how to make their famous "The Whopper" at home, buying ingredients from any groceries shop. With a fun and attractive design.

Just yesterday, a new surprise has risen to help deal with quarantine boredom.

UberEats collaborated with Carrefour and Burger King where you can order, through the UberEats app, all ingredients needed for a "Whopper".

People are linking together for the sake of humanity. They are bringing forward new ideas, new concepts that would have never existed before.

Creativity is booming as well with the world's biggest museums giving out virtual tours or sending out challenges.

For instance, the MOMA of New York is sending out the challenge to recreate your favorite painting with what you have at home, the results are stunning!

The famous media Konbini known for it's fun and quirky videos such as: Les Sandwich, Fast & Curious or Trou Story. They have invented a new concept of videos specifically due to quarantine called Make Home Great again where they interview celebrities and ask them the typical questions such as where are you confined, what do you do to make the day go by, or what is your favorite part of the house...

At the end of the day, this quarantine has made us feel closer then we ever have. The human population is choosing to be together and to share their knowledge or passion, a real sense of humanity has enveloped the difficult and uncertain times we are facing today.

By Ninon Barou