ISOLATION DIARIES PART 10: LOOK AT THE CAMERA

The sky looks heavy with rain this afternoon. After last week's sunshine through the window, there's a grey world out there. It's cold too, today.

I've noticed today that people don't look at the camera. When chatting, it almost feels as though they either can't see you, can but don't want to (actually, pretty likely) or prefer to look at themselves (very likely).

Of course, it's also possible that when speaking, they're looking at the screen - in real life you'd look at someone's eyes, wouldn't you? But unlike the old way of doing things, in this world, the person's eyes are not looking at you, they're looking at a picture of you, and the picture is not where your eyes are, so you're not really making eye contact at all.

So, when speaking, I now talk directly at the camera - rather like being on TV, which I suppose we sort of are these days. That way, anyone looking at the screen will see me looking straight at them. Sure, I can't see my own facial expression. I can't see their reactions either (without breaking eye contact anyway) and we can't respond with that microsecond fluidity we're used to. But that's alright, I'm getting used to it. And eye contact, though it can be thousands of miles in the making, is a good thing.

There's a thirty percent chance of rain, apparently. Then it'll clear up and be a bit sunnier, just in time for my evening stroll in the park. It's fast becoming the highlight of my day.