Today, we're going to be talking about how you can best use your personal technology to stay connected with your family and friends, whether they live across the street, across town, in another state, or even in another country.
It is essential in so many ways for us to stay connected with others. Connection truly represents a basic human need, and we feel it is important to understand how technology can be used on our own terms in order to maintain a connection with others. Thankfully, with the personal technologies that are available to us, we can stain in touch with everyone in our lives with our devices. And, we don’t have to worry about paying long-distance fees, as almost all of these services can be used in some way for free.
Whether you’re using a phone, a tablet, or a laptop, there are four communication apps that are very beneficial to their users trying to stay connected. We’ll start by talking about FaceTime. This is an Apple-only way to communicate featuring voice and video chat.
Then, we’ll be talking about Skype. This is another way to make video calls, voice calls, and conduct text chats. Skype is a multi-platform app, meaning you can use it with Mac, Windows, or Android devices.
Next, we will take a look at Facebook Messenger. You may already have Facebook, but you might not have used Messenger. If you have a Facebook account, you already automatically have access to the Messenger app. Messenger can be very useful because many of your family and friends, especially the younger generation, are already on Facebook. Your messenger app connects you with your Facebook contacts, so you can immediately send a video, voice, or text chat to anyone who has a Facebook account.
And finally, we are also going to talk about WhatsApp. This is another app owned by Facebook, but it’s a third-party application. It allows you to text message, send images, and even video chat through the app, as long as the other family or friend has the app installed as well.