Are Virtual Games, Workouts or Happy Hours Most Popular Right Now? (Infographic) Doodle has tracked a nearly 300 percent increase in this type of virtual meeting.
By Jessica Thomas •
Virtual meetings are now the norm for many people working from makeshift home offices, but the same technologies we use to keep in touch for work are now also being used for personal socializing. With most people across the U.S. in their third or fourth week of social distancing, we're turning into a nation of virtual party planners. Instead of meeting up with friends for post-work drinks or attending multiple birthday parties every weekend, we're planning get-togethers on Zoom or arranging "car parades" for our kids' classmates' birthdays.
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Online meeting planner Doodle released a new report on just how popular these virtual parties are becoming, and there are three types that are taking the lead: virtual games or trivia, virtual workouts and virtual happy hours. The most popular? There's one clear winner.
Although Americans apparently miss their live workouts and game nights quite a bit, they don't hold a candle to real-life cocktail hours with friends. From March 1-20, there was a 296 percent increase in virtual happy hours. Of course, virtual happy hours are also the easiest of the three to plan, so that could have something to do with the results.
The number of people planning all of these get-togethers further supports the theory that social isolation has a profound effect on mental health. Looking forward to seeing a friend's face at the end of the day, even on a screen, can be the difference between someone having a great day and a bad one.
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