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A long distance friendship (LDF) means that you maintain a friendship from geographically different locations. In the past, maintaining a LDF may have seemed impossible but thanks to technology these types of friendships are thriving and the need for face to face contact is not necessary. Long distance friendships are common among college students since it is a transitional time in young adults lives. Thanks to the advances in technology LDF's are surviving off of the use of different communication technologies including phone calls, texting, social media, and video chat.

Due to the increase in technology LDF's are becoming more and more normalized and are important to study to gain more knowledge in the area. Long distance friendships compared to long distance relationships have just began to be studied by scholars and there is much more to learn about this type of interpersonal communication.

Challenges
In any type of relationship, challenges are inevitable. In long distance friendships, where communication is the basis for keeping these types of friendships going, there are unique challenges that arise. According to The Chicago Tribune there are four challenges that include:


 * Lack of Cues- not being able to see how each other are reacting while conversing. This can be lost through communication via technology causing for miscommunication such as your partner thinking you aren't be attentive or seem uninterested.
 * Invisible Changes- when you don't see someone everyday you don't notice the differences between one another. Instead you focus on how you are similar and assume that your friendship will remain the same even though people are constantly changing.
 * Process Intrudes on Fun- when communicating from miles apart you typically want the conversations to be light, fun, and friendly. That being said, at times serious conversations need to be had and can cause for an awkward talk.
 * Too Much or Too Little Access- online communication is based on connection such as the internet. This can cause for frustration between two people and cause for strain on the relationship. You can also easily talk over one enough through text messages or via video chat. On the other hand, if the channel of communication is perfect that may cause for stress due to thinking you must constantly talk and communicate all the time with no time to process.

There are many other challenges that can affect a long-distance friendship such as jealousy, insecurity, and lack of shared experiences.

Overcoming Challenges
Although long-distance friendships have many challenges there are ways to handle and overcome these challenges so your friendships can continue to flourish. Here are a few ways to stay connected to your long-distance friends:


 * video chat often
 * watch the same TV show or movie
 * schedule time to talk to one another and don't cancel
 * create a long-distance book club and 'meet' online to chat about it
 * take a mini trip and meet somewhere
 * send care packages
 * visit when you can
 * utilize technology - video chat, text messaging, email, phone calls, snapchat etc.

Means of Communication
Long-distance friendships must utilize the various forms of communication technologies available in order to survive. Several studies have examined which types of communication are helpful when it comes to these friendships. The increase in technology available makes it easier for these friendships to survive the geographical distance and the different forms help to provide different outlets for various levels of friendship. This includes phone calls, video chat, social media platforms,online sites such as Facebook, etc.

According to the New York Post, Americans check their phones every twelve minutes on average. All of these communication technologies are available through your phone which makes it incredibly accessible for individuals to stay up to date and in tune with their long distance friends. The post also states that a study by global tech protection found that that thirty-one percent of participants would feel severe separation anxiety from their phone if they don't have access to it. These statistics further explain the need for these communication technologies and their influence on individuals daily lives.

Long Distance Friendships vs. Long Distance Relationships
Long Distance friendships and long distance relationships share many similar struggles and while both are challenging, long distance friendships could be seen in a very different way. According to hercampus, there are three ways in which a LDF is more difficult than a LDR. These are


 * Replaceability- this is unique to long distance friendships because it is seen as normal to interact with more than one friend and form other friendships, Meanwhile in a LDR you have that one person to connect and depend on instead of multiple people. This can make it easy for LDF to fall apart due to getting replaced by a new individual in their new environment.
 * Acknowledgement- a LDR is often respected by others and is seen as something serious. A long distance friendship can often be overlooked and there is no recognition for maintaining these types of relationships.
 * Future-planning- in a long distance relationship there are natural things to happen such as moving into together, getting engaged etc. With a long distance friendship there is no 'next step' for your long term long distance friendship which can cause for friendships to fizzle out

Both types of relationships are important and the struggle to maintain either a LDR or LDF are strenuous on any individual. It is important we take the time to study and understand long distance friendships as we do LDR's. Friendships are crucial for personal development and social interact and are unique and voluntary. According to Wang, " "existing studies suggest LDF's are common; close to 90% of the subjects in Rohfing's research reported having at least one close, long-distanced friend."

Research
There was a study done that examined long distance friends patterns of communication technology use. This study examined how people communicate using multiple communication technologies to stay in touch and the affects of utilizing more than one complementarily among first year college students.

The findings of the study found that complementary use of phone calls combined with text messaging was higher in closer friendships compared to other technology. This was based on use of a survey that utilized a likert scale over a ten day period. The initial survey was completed by 155 individuals to access how close their relationship was with a particular friend followed by a daily survey to see what communication technologies were used the most on a day to day basis.

The study also utilized and explained Media Multiplexity Theory which "proposes that tie strength drives patterns of media use,more so than the reverse". The study proved this to be partially correct as participants in the student noted closer friendships with higher daily use of communication technologies. The study also examined Channel Complementarity Theory which is the use of multiple sources being the different communication technologies to analyze the closeness of these friendships and the correlation.