Artists created a video chat service to connect lonely people quarantined during the coronavirus outbreak
- Artists Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins created QuarantineChat, a video chat service designed to connect people living in coronavirus quarantine zones and others just looking to talk to people.
- The app is run through Dialup - a video chat service Baskin and Hawkins created in 2019 when Baskin was quarantined with mono, and felt very lonely.
- As anxiety about the coronavirus spreads, Baskin and Hawkins told Insider they wanted to provide a service to help people build community in spite of it.
- "It's to bring magic and serendipity to a new reality where thousands of people are stuck inside alone for the next month all over the world," Baskin and Hawkins told Insider in an email.
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As more people are self-quarantining to protect themselves from the global spread of coronavirus, artists Danielle Baskin and Max Hawkins have come up with a possible solution to the isolation.
The duo recently released QuarantineChat, a video chat service that allows users to connect with other people around the world who may be in coronavirus quarantines, whether they are mandated by their government or self-imposed.
Users can access the service by downloading Dialup - a video chat app that lets people call each other without using a phone number - and get connected with people around the world who want to talk about their shared experiences with the coronavirus, quarantine, or simply isolation.
"It's to bring magic and serendipity to a new reality where thousands of people are stuck inside alone for the next month all over the world," Baskin and Hawkins told Insider in an email.
Baskin said she found inspiration for the service when she contracted mono in 2017 and felt isolated
In 2017, Baskin was self-quarantined in her San Francisco apartment after contracting mono during a trip to Shenzhen, China. Baskin was sick, felt awful, and isolated.
Baskin told Insider she connected with people via phone during her several weeks of self-quarantine, but she found herself wanting to speak to people who understood her unique experience.
"Then I thought: I wish I could talk on the phone to other people with mono and ask them what movies they're watching and other stuff," Baskin said. "It would be nice to talk to them because I know we're going through a similar experience together at this moment."
This led Baskin to co-create Dialup with her business partner Hawkins in 2019. But after anxiety around the coronavirus spread, Hawkins and Baskin decided to cater Dialup to people who make be experiencing anxiety about the virus. Since the first case was detected in December 2019, more than 84,000 people have been infected worldwide.
Baskin told Insider that as of now, dozens of people are using the service - primarily in California and Iran, which have both declared states of emergencies due to a rise in cases of coronavirus.
While some may find QuarantineChat to be a bit morbid, Bakin said the purpose of the project is to unify people using humor.
"Yes, we have elevator music and maybe "QuarantineChat" sounds dystopian, but I believe subtle humor is important during chaotic times," Baskin told Insider. "While COVID-19 is not a lighthearted matter, we hope this project brings people moments of joy."
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