Dear LPG,

I live alone and, in spite of a large extended family, I am busy adhering to the government guidelines even though they seem to become more unclear as time goes by.   That, for me, means staying at home and, for my sanity, staying in touch with my friends and family.  I use the phone a lot but I have also learned a few of the secrets of being able to see some of those who I talk to as well as hear them with the help of my tablet. I also have to say that being able to talk to more than one person at the same time, and being able to see them, makes life a little more interesting now that I have learned how, and perhaps that is the next trick that it would be good to learn.    

If you have sons, daughters, nieces, nephews or grandchildren, and you can already talk to them online, they are likely to have the time to show you how at the moment, but if not, I have found a few instructions that might be helpful.  Any young person will tell you that it is easy really although I am grateful that someone, who I was able to ask questions to, showed me the basics.  I found some basic (?) instructions online and have asked LPG to pass some of them on. There are so many of these video chat app things so I have gone for the three most popular ones I can think of here.

I think that the videos a little complicated but some might be able to understand while others might be better prepared if they can find a real person to give them an added lesson on the subject.   

Can I ask that if there are any readers out there who have friends of a certain age who have some knowledge of video calling, please pass your knowledge on to those who have the equipment (the necessary apps and a little knowledge) to join in.   There is something really special about being able to see who you are talking to, and talking to more than one person at a time is really worth trying. 

NS, Beckenham

NS has asked us to share these instructional webpages which are the most basic she could find but stresses that anyone aiming to try a group call may need some added advice.  LPG would also like to add that for any of these platforms to work, all the people who want to be part of any group video call needs to have the relevant app on their device. 

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