Staying In Touch With Friends During The Holidays
One of the best parts of being at university is making all kinds of new friends that you see on an almost-daily basis. It certainly adds to the atmosphere of an experience that will be remembered long after you graduate and make your way forward in life.
It’s that kind of camaraderie that makes the holidays so difficult at times. Most people go to universities that can be miles away from home, so when they travel back to see their families during the holiday periods it’s natural that they will miss their friends at the same time.
So what can you do if you are in this situation? It’s easy enough to pick up the phone, and you can text or call from your mobile as well, but it’s not the same as seeing your friends and you will certainly start to feel the cost when the phone bill comes in. Emails are better since they don’t cost you any money, but while you can attach photos to them it is a poor substitute compared to going out with your friends.
The internet holds a better solution, and what’s more it won’t cost you any money either. If you have access to a computer which is connected to the internet then it’s a simple matter of getting the right equipment and software that will enable you to keep in touch with your friends all through the holiday period.
While the idea of making phone calls at no cost by using your computer is becoming more popular with each day that passes, using video to enable you to see who you are talking to as well as hear them is also catching on. This adds a whole new dimension to the idea of making a phone call, as you can meet your friends’ families online too!
You don’t need to spend too much to get started either – you can generally sign up for free and your main requirement will of course be a web cam. These can be obtained quite cheaply although it is worth buying a reasonably good one as it will invariably be of better quality. A desktop microphone or headset completes the equipment requirement, and again, these can be obtained fairly cheaply.
Before you leave university for the holidays, make sure you know which of your friends uses the same system that you are going to sign up for. If you have all their details you can arrange to call each other once you have your web cam all set up and ready to go.
Nowadays, the technology used to make free video calls possible has come a long way since the early days of this type of service; you’ll think your friend is in the room with you when you see and speak to them like this now.
What better way to stay in touch during the holidays?
Adam Singleton writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.
