Hanging out with friends has taken a whole new definition because of the pandemic. The coronavirus has taken a toll on how we interact with other people. Video conferencing became the new normal.
Catching up with friends, attending classes, and working has shifted to such as a way to communicate.
For some, it could be easy. However, others find video calls comparable to stage fright.
According to child therapist Natasha Daniels, the feeling of having anxiety when doing videos is not only a thing that children experience. Even public speakers like herself find it challenging to face a live video update.
"Video has that power to make us really insecure," Daniels says.
Daniels shares some tips on how parents and kids can overcome the scare of video calls in a video for AT Parenting Survival.
Do not avoid
Daniels says that it is always easier to consider not attending a class or avoiding a phone call from friends. "When we say we're not gonna do it at all, we're avoiding it. We're making excuses; we're empowering our anxieties."
Daniels also emphasized that the more a kid listens to his or her anxiety, the louder it gets, and the more it tells us not to do things. Taking one step at a time could help. Daniels says that deciding not to do it all together is not the best way to handle the scare of video calls.
Choose to turn off video or audio.
Once onboard, taking the call doesn't necessarily have to go full-blown. People may choose to turn off the video and their audio and listen to what is happening. Daniels refers to this as taking a small step. At least, the child is starting to become part of something, even if he or she is not fully participating.
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Get used to the format or the technicalities.
In an article from CIO, one of the fears of those who work from home is that they will encounter a technical problem.
According to Dennis Collins, the director of marketing at West Unified Communications, familiarizing oneself with the technicalities will help avoid glitches in the long run.
The same goes for kids, before going to calls, they should also be familiar with the format of the platform that they are going to use.
The kid should be adept with options like using the "speaker view" instead of the gallery view. Sometimes, children who are scared of video calls get nervous when they see so many small tiles of other people who seem to be staring at him or her.
Practice by recording self.
Daniels says that seeing one's self staring at the screen can sometimes be frightening. So for a child to get used to this, they may start by recording short videos of themselves and sending it to their friends or relatives.
Start video calling with people that the child is comfortable to talk.
To avoid shock, children may start calling their grandparents first before joining a large web conference that they are not very comfortable with in the first place.
