Life Carries On Behind Sheltered Doors As Video Gatherings Bring On The Happy Hour

Humans really are a spectacularly resilient bunch.

While partying scofflaws on Florida beaches have been out recklessly risking the spread of coronavirus to others, multiple millions of rule-abiding, sequestered Americans across the nation have hunkered down indoors seeking relief in the loving arms of a happy-hour buzz with friends and family — virtually.

Providing a respite from the currently surreal landscape of the global pandemic, group video chats have proven to be the safest mode of interaction for the bored and isolated masses. They’re also an instrumental tool in drawing people together to commiserate (in a safe space) and share a glass at happy hour.

Call it social un-distancing online.

The businesses Zoom and Houseparty have reaped the most benefits. Two video chat apps that can accommodate numerous users at once, they’ve been the frontrunners facilitating group meetups by stir crazy partygoers. Prior to the pandemic, those apps were familiar mainly to businesspeople shuffling papers and 9th graders comparing hairstyles. But since about mid-March they’ve become household names among the quarantined hordes looking for a little normalcy infused back into their disrupted lives.

While social distancing and flattening the curve are of course very real and serious matters, behind the safety of closed doors video mass-gatherings are alleviating the pressure brought on by seclusion. Recent laws enacted by state governments aimed at keeping essential services available to citizens have also assisted Americans in getting access to their beloved happy-hour party preferences, including cannabis and alcohol. In California — one of the initial states in the U.S. to count an influx of coronavirus cases — the online marijuana delivery service Eaze reported order volumes spiking 38 percent (compared to the annual average), as well as cannabis deliveries to first-time customers expanding by 50 percent. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the Golden State also temporarily suspended enforcement of specific legal prohibitions, including alcoholic beverages for takeout, which can now temporarily be sold alongside food to-go.

The resulting, abrupt change to many peoples’ lives has meant millions of hilarious house parties and Brady-Bunch side-by-side screens including family members, friends and newly introduced revelers getting to know one another using this newer interface.

Among the throngs of hilariously sloshed folks stuck at home looking for some happy-hour excitement was singer-songwriter Pink who posted a video on Instagram last week, viewed by over 2 million people, saying, “Ok everybody, ok listen, this is my PSA … I don’t know how much you guys have been drinking during this whole quarantine thing, but I’ve decided to make it a sport. When I drink, I get really, really brilliant ideas. And last night, I got an idea: ‘I can cut hair. I can totally cut hair — why have I been paying people all this time?’”

Lockdown fever also prompted a comical wine-inspired, karaoke-video session by UK blogger Victoria Emes, singing Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” interspersed with self-isolation lyrics.

“First I was afraid, I was petrified / kept thinking how I’d ever live without the world outside / But then I spent so many nights scoffing crisps and necking wine / I know it’s time to say we’re going to be just fine!”

Mix up a Quarantini and enjoy this beauty.