One of my best friends in high school went to college across the country. She promised to keep in touch with the rest of us back home -- and she actually has. When people hear the term "long distance" describing any kind of relationship, they think of it as both a side affect of a moblie culture, and a wholesale failure in progress. Every school year, classes are different, every couple of years, schools change. People graduate and disperse to colleges and universities across the country. Job opportunities pull people from rural settings to cities, or from one city to another. School choice for children, neighborhood selection, housing prices. The idea of a close relationship separated by distance, though unfortunate, is treated with inevitability. People that try to maintain these friendships are often pitied, "it's hard, and it's only going to get worse." But why? People need face-to-face interaction to fully communicate. It is difficult to have pertinent conversations when both know different people and places and events. Yet "pen pals" were a popular concept, even if the two never met. It comes down to willingness and the strength of a friendship.
Modern technology significantly eases this difficulty, however. Facebook links people that have little to do with each other, and they find commonality in mutual internet interests. They can watch the same videos, see the same pictures, and follow the same forums. Video chatting significantly improves communication on a personal level by allowing people to see each other and use body language. Can instant communication on almost every level and a readily available pool of mutual Internet experience be enough to keep a long-distance friendship going for years? Society is cynical because it focuses on personal negative experiences. But after a year and counting, I can be confident that it's possible.
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