How to entertain yourself at home

Published in El Pais, 17 March 2020.

Coronavirus has been declared a pandemic. Many countries are in lock down either because the situation is bad like in Italy or like here in Canada to slow the spread before things get out of hand. This of course means everyone will be spending more time at home as events are cancelled and bars and restraunts close. So, what are we to do to pass the time? Here are some things we can do using modern technology to alleviate the boredom.

1. Streaming services: Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is binge watch Netflix but there are only so many things to watch on one service. Compared to only a year ago there are now multiple services to subscribe. Normally having multiple accounts is unnecessary but it might be worth spending the money for at least a couple of months to give you a broader selection.
2. E readers: Now might be a good time to catch up on some reading but with many stores closing purchasing books might be difficult if not impossible. Tablets now let you purchase and download digital books right onto your device allowing you to expand your collection from the comfort of your home. I know purists argue they can never replace a real book, but they may have to live with it for the time being.
3. Video games: This is like digital books as the industry is moving away from physical copies of games and towards digital. The modern consoles as well as computers now let you purchase and download almost any game, again without ever leaving your home.
4. Face Time: We may have to limit face to face interaction with friends and family, even those we live with. Now would be a good time to take advantage of video calling to at least allow you to continue to socialize, even if only digitally.

Hopefully we will not be doing this for a long but in the meantime, we must keep ourselves sane and entertained. Hopefully these tips will ease you through this difficult time.

Many of you might be wondering about delivery services like Amazon. In theory we can see businesses like these flourishes as the demand will be at an all time high but with manufacturing and traveling coming to a halt supply may not meet demand which could result in sky high prices. I would be careful before overly relying on such a service.