Living on the virtual edge

The other day, the children had a virtual invite for a virtual party – a birthday party! Desperate times require desperate measures, so the parents of a four-year-old in our apartment complex took to Zoom to schedule a party with family and friends. What was curious was the post script: “Please join with snacks and drinks, the cake cutting will be followed by games and dance.” So we sat for the Zoom meeting armed with cake slices, Lays and fruit juice and had them while the birthday girl blew out the candles on her rainbow cake and cut it; guessing games and a ‘chicken dance’ followed. The gifts were virtual too, so wishes and blessings travelled faster than light to bring a smile on the little one’s face.

In the time of social distancing, virtual get-togethers have made life bearable or even fun for many of us. The weather is too unsavoury to have a small private party in the park; moreover, no one trusts or welcomes food or gifts from others. With restrictions in place for social gatherings at home and malls and restaurant party halls not everybody’s idea of fun in COVID times, parents of tiny tots in the UAE leave no stone unturned in the virtual wilderness looking for partying ideas.

Online forums throw up plenty of options. From a simple e-card – which we have been doing since the time Internet became a household companion – to a video card with a compilation of wishes from friends to a group workout, the choices are good enough to tide over lockdown blues. One can host a virtual watch party using a Netflix Party extension in Chrome, which will help all attendees watch the same movie at the same time with the same pauses/breaks and even discuss the scenes in the chat room. Then there are virtual tours provided by museums and zoos. Abu Dhabi’s Louvre and Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque have been providing the service for some time now. In Dubai, the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, Dubai Mall’s Underwater Aquarium and Zoo, Etihad Museum and the opulent interiors of the seven-star Burj al Arab are all available at our fingertips. Stay safe by staying at home, but by all means have some fun as virtually as possible, exhorts Dubai Tourism.

Celebrations in isolation don’t mean that we will attend the party in our pyjamas and night suits. Themed parties with costumes to match can be exciting and fun, so is sending a cake delivered home to the birthday boy/girl.

The teens at home, however, will have none of this for their birthdays. Adventure rides and a movie date might be out of the question now, but they would rather spend time with friends in a mall food court or coffee shop away from the prying eyes of parents. The 50-degree heat doesn’t deter them from meeting outdoors either – D3 and Kite Beach are awesome hangout points when like minds meet.

In the UAE, COVID-19 has given us free access to many VoIP calling services helping us discover the immense possibilities in the virtual sphere. Zoom’s 40-minute free call has come in handy for tuitions, office meetings, summer camps, yoga sessions and so on. Long-lost friends from school and college are meeting on the zoom grid unmindful of the initial security concerns and jingoistic boycott of Chinese apps. As an aside, did anyone notice that the country that gave us the novel coronavirus is also giving us masks, gloves, vaccine assistance and the most popular social media apps?

It is party time for all, albeit virtually in 2020. This is nothing new for a friend who has been away in Malta on work for some years now while her immediate family is scattered in Dubai and Germany. Much before COVID, they have been having supper together over Skype and later, Botim. Birthday cakes were cut and shared over the virtual space. That’s what we call “have your cake and eat it too” in the new brave world.