With traditional end-of-year school celebrations cancelled due to COVID-19 quarantines, Japanese students have hosted digital graduation parties on Minecraft. In unstable times, online communities are playing an important role in keeping up morale and maintaining social connections.

With people across the US increasingly self-isolating and staying inside, they’re finding innovative ways to socialize. Netflix Party is a Chrome browser extension that creates a sense of community and lets people watch their favourite movies and shows together even when they’re miles apart.

As the world goes into quarantine, people are mass-downloading video-streaming app TikTok. While Gen Zers have felt relegated to the sidelines of society’s economic decisions, young content creators are taking to TikTok to poke fun at a Boomer-run system under stress.

The Coronavirus Diaries is a series of dispatches from Slate highlighting first-hand experiences of how life is changing as a result of the outbreak. In a media climate of fake news and pandemic scaremongering, real experiences are a source of truth that most people can, on some level, relate to.