Video calls may have helped to ease isolation during lockdown, but it’s not just humans that can provide a sense of connection. Canvas8 spoke to social psychologist Dr. Elaine Paravati Harrigan to understand how people are fulfilling social needs with or without others.

How has the pandemic affected intimacy? Why are people going off open-plan design? And will remote-working trigger an urban exodus? In this part of the 2021 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about the forces set to shape our homes and relationships in the year ahead.

Rather than a traditional video call, the Caribu app is an interactive platform that focuses on fun and connection. Users can read together over the app, use digital coloring books, play games, and have virtual playdates with everyone from grandparents to friends from school.

With virtual conferences becoming the norm for the foreseeable future due to the pandemic, businesses are looking for innovative ways to bring the benefits of in-person attendance to the virtual realm. Start-up Hopin is hoping to fill this void with its online venue for live events.