Is there any all-purpose opposite for "in person"?
I'm looking for a term or single word that can be used as the opposite of "in person" in situations we might be involved in a given activity without our direct (physical) presence, like:
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Taking online courses instead of taking part in classes
"_____ courses" vs "in-person courses"
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Having a videoconference instead of meeting someone in person
"_____ meeting" vs "in-person meeting"
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Having an interview over the phone instead of a face-to-face interview
"_____ interview" vs "in-person interview"
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Shopping online instead of going to the market
"_____ shopping" vs "in-person shopping"
I have found "absentee" like in "absentee vote" but I don't think it can be used as the opposite of "in person".
Is there really any opposite for "in person" that can be used generally, so that I can fill all those blanks with that?
Remote.
Harvard Law School website has a section on Remote Interviewing which may be Telephone Interviews or Skype/Videoconference Interviews.
Quoting dictionary.cambridge.org:
remote adjective (DISTANT)
specialized internet & telecoms remote computer systems are available to users in another part of a building or in another place, for example through a network:
This enables you to get remote access to your email. a remote server
Tweaking phrases in queston:
Taking a course remotely
A remote participant in the conference.
Having a remote interview.
I've never seen it used in this context, but I think it would be a good use of "virtual". Wikipedia defines "virtual" among other meanings as "Operating by computer or in cyberspace; not physically present".
On-line... Yes, today on-line refers mainly to experiences over the internet, and if you look it up in a dictionary (at least the ones I just looked in) the definition is singularly linked to such experiences. However I own several old warranty cards and manuals from before the invent of said internet referring to on-line help being available at some phone no.
So clearly the dictionaries have it wrong. On-line means "over the phone", and thus by extension also over the internet (as the internet initially was transmitted over the phone line)