The holiday season is a time to spend with loved ones. Family dinners, friends meeting and catching up over a drink or two at the pub, and a plethora of board games, games of charades, and more. Tis the season to put the smartphones down and talk face-to-face. But in today’s world, it’s never that easy, is it?
Be it by trying to cheat your way through Trivial Pursuit and having a sly, secret Google, or simply searching for the most perfect, complete holiday playlist, technology and the festive season go hand in hand. Take a look at some considerations of how to make the most of your devices between now and the New Year.
LONG DRIVES
An unavoidable symptom of the holiday season is the amount of travelling that people around the world will be partaking in over the next month or so. For long now, there have been options to amuse yourself whilst barreling down freeways to visit unfamiliar relatives, but that is not the only assistance that technology can provide us on long journeys.
For example, there are mobile wireless routers which allow you to stream music and videos through your car without having to download to your device. And, in addition to this, there are ever increasingly powerful powerbanks to utilise should you find your tablet running low on charge.
LONG DISTANCE COMMUNICATION
Unfortunately, as you grow older, it becomes increasingly difficult to see everybody everywhere. In an interconnected world, where friends and family can be living and working thousands of miles away, it has never been easier to have a quick catch up with those you don’t see much of anymore.
Social media services like Skype and WhatsApp allow you to speak with anyone, anywhere, so long as there is a decent internet connection. Even if it’s just for a couple of minutes before dinner the ability to wish happy holidays to your best friend currently based in the Arctic, technology has you covered.
KEEP YOUR CHIN UP
While the holidays are supposed to be the season of good cheers, some people will find themselves alone over the coming months. This can be hard to stomach when everyone else seems to be spending time with their loved ones.
However, there are solutions to this. There are several services, such as Woebot, an AI-assisted app whereby a bot is on hand 24/7 to discuss mental health problems. If that doesn’t seem suitable, Replika is another option, for those who just want to chat.
It’s not just loneliness that can get you down. Any post-festive waistlines are likely to be trimmed down over the coming year. For this, fitness apps can help you tackle your (completely acceptable) overindulgence and help you prepare for the following summer.
It has been a long year, and you’ve earned it to relax over the festive season, these suggestions along with tips for keeping warm and comfortable should hopefully provide you with a platform to have a healthy and happy holiday season.
