Video Call with Grandparents

In the picture, a family of three is sitting on the sofa in the living room of an HDB flat, facing a tablet that has been propped up on the coffee table. On the screen I can see an elderly couple, so they are having a video call with the grandparents. All three are facing the screen together rather than passing the device around. What I also noticed is that they are sitting close so that everyone fits into the camera view, which means the grandparents can see the whole family at once.

My aunt and cousins live in Perth, so we video call them about once a month, usually on a Sunday evening because of the time difference. My cousin and I mostly show each other things rather than talk properly, such as a new game or the cake my mother baked. Once the connection was so poor that we spent the whole call frozen mid-sentence, and we ended up messaging instead. It is not the same as seeing them, but it does mean my youngest cousin knows who I am.

I feel video calls help a great deal but they are not the same as visiting. On a call you can see someone's face and hear their voice, which is far better than only messages, and it makes distant relatives feel present in ordinary life rather than only at reunions. However, you cannot share a meal, help with something, or sit quietly in the same room, and much of being close to someone comes from those unremarkable moments. That is why I feel video calls keep relationships alive between visits, but cannot replace the visits themselves.