Traditional Distance

Traditional wisdom will tell you that long distance relationships don’t work. What I’m going to tell you is that traditional wisdom is outdated. Long distance is not easy (but when has any relationship been easy?)

Long distance is simply a different kind of relationship, recently made more and more possible with the advancement of technologies like Skype and, of course, the multitude of instant messaging platforms now available to anyone with an internet connection.

Gone are the days when so-called ‘snail mail’ or incredibly expensive phone calls were the only form of communication with anyone outside your immediate vicinity.

Let’s face it, communication via hand written letters sent and received, maybe every couple of days, or the occasional phone call is the reason long distance relationships have such a bad name. In that situation emotional distance is compounded by physical distance and a complete lack of any kind of intimacy with your partner.

The difference, nowadays (especially recently), is that, it’s almost irrelevant where is the world your significant other happens to be, you can send them a message any time of the day or night and depending on what platform you’re using, you can even see if it’s been received by their device.

Technologies like Skype have given long distance couples the ability to not only hear each other but to inexpensively see each other in real time. There’s email, there’s Youtube, there’s Facebook, there’s Twitter, there’s more channels of communication open to tech savy but distanced lovers than there ever has been before.

If communication is, in fact, the key to a healthy relationship then distance couples have the potential for relationships healthier than Michelle Bridges.

The only thing that remains unsolved is actual physical intimacy, the ability to kiss, hug or simply touch the other person is absolutely unavailable which is, I think, the hardest part for modern long distance couples.

Despite the endless avenues of communication by which they can see, speak to and leave messages for each other the impossibility of a goodnight kiss can, understandably, be an absolute deal-breaker for some.

Having said this, the ability to communicate instantaneously online has opened an infinite number of possibilities to couples around the world and who knows what the future holds, perhaps sometime soon touch will not be such a difficult barrier to overcome.



Image: Wikimedia Commons



#_Distance
#_Relationships
#_Online
#_Communication
#_Technology





%trulyheart