Strong relationships built over video calls – impossible?

The other day, I heard someone claim that you can’t have real connections with someone when they’re a square on your screen. It was a defense of returning to in person offices in the coming post-COVID months, instead of letting people keep working from home.

That’s garbage. My closest and most trusted friends (not counting family, of course) are all people I’ve seen in person only a handful of times, if that. In some cases it’s actually easier to be raw and vulnerable with people over a video call.