Despite the Physical Separation, Long Distance Relationships Can Work

Having a successful long distance relationship involves a dedicated commitment to making it work. If you and your partner both understand the complexities of living apart, your relationship will be more likely to thrive. Because of a continuous growth and broad range of technology which helps us to communicate all around the world, the number of long distance relationships are steadily increasing. Serving in the military, studying in another country, expanded opportunities to work abroad, and the evolution of online relationships have all contributed to the surge in long distance relationships. Presently, we can stay in communication not only with the telephone - there is also e-mail, text, video conference, and expedited mail delivery as we have never seen before. This progress in technology allows us to promptly communicate with our partners and have the capacity to maintain improved, flourishing relationships in spite of the physical distance! All of these technological advances have contributed towards bridging the distance in ways previously unheard of. There are some interesting statistics garnered from a study done by The Centre for the Study of Long Distance Relationships. From a sample of over 200, these are the average responses from 95% of long distance relationships:

How far apart do they live? 125 miles

How often to they visit one another? 1.5 times per month

How often do they call one another? Once every 2 days

How long are their telephone calls typically? 30 minutes

How often do they write one another (not including e-mail)? 3 letters per month

How long do they expect to be separated before they can move closer to one another? 14 months

The primary component to many rewarding distance relationships is fundamentally a genuine rapport and affinity with one another, and not proximity. Many studies that have been done show that there is not a larger chance of a long distance relationship breaking up than a more traditional relationship. These findings would imply that our needs for a romantic relationship are sentimental and emotional, rather than physical.