Long Distance relationships have grown as tenchology allows for easier communication

Question

Utibe Udoma from Medium claims that the spread of social media along with the constant use of smartphones has increased the quality and number of long-distance relationships 

Answer 1

I agree with the statement, however the article did not have any research whatsoever and was only examples, without any sources. I found an article that at least gives some facts, but it is just referencing a reddit community called r/LongDistance about how some people that meet through technology end up getting married. A quote at the end of the article i found summed it up very well, "Technology fills in the gaps, helps us build stronger bonds, but it has yet to duplicate looking into someone’s eyes..". Back to the claim that long distance relationships have grown as a result of technology, I could not find any conclusive evidence that there has/has not been an increase in the number of long distance relationships.

https://www.wired.com/story/long-distance-relationships-technology/ 

Answer 2

I believe that the claim of long distance relationships growing is accurate with the increase of modern technology. This claim was posted referencing current media revolutions such as Facetime and Instagram to portray the changing times of today. Author Utibe Udoma doesn't highlight any sources that I could find which heavily hurts his claim and leaves me to question the authenticity of this claim. Visiting Swiss Cognitive I found similar results heavily hinting at a growth.

Communication tools are vital to the existence and continuation of romantic relationships. In the past long distance relationships would bear no contact or at the very best a measley payphone call. Now with the aid of Facetime or Zoom or even Skype parties are able to communicate practically face to face. This level of intimacy promotes healthy habits and keeps hopes high "even when they are thousands of miles apart". The ability to communicate with your partner while keeping eye contact and perceiving facial expressions is key to a beautiful relationship according to both The Medium and Swiss Cognition.

Social media is another feature that bolsters loving relationships. Websites such as Instragram or Facebook allows for constant daily life updates. Your partner is then able to comment or view said updates that may lead to bonding experiences and relataibility from all the way across the globe. Social media breaks the barrier that distance places and can make one feel as if they are creating memories together through a lence. Social media completely eliminates isolation and the inevitable dooming loneliness that time apart brings forth.

The lack of fact checking included in the article brings me to a conclusion of apprehension and possible extrapolation in my final thoughts. All in all I do firmly agree, upon my own research, that long distance relationships ultimately grow due to the aid of modern technology. To place my final score upon this claim I give it a true rating with a comment of very little to no available information.

Comments

I agree with your overall statement and conclusion to this claim. I agree with all your final thoughts that long-distance relationships ultimately grow due to the aid of modern technology. And I also appreciate that you made it clear that your conclusion was determined based on your own information and not facts stated by the article provided.

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I agree with the key points of this statement, however the examples presented in the article didn't have any substantial evidence that new technological advancements in communication ties with better long distance relationships. Although we are able to find a lot of easy communication within this technology, it can't fill someone being physically there. This article was also only one of the few articles I found that more technology enhances long distance relationships, a great article I found written by ManoaNow, states that "The problem is not necessarily the fact that it was long distance, but rather that it was an over-reliance on the technology that seemed to make the separation anxiety bearable". They explain that even with all of these tools, "technology allows partners to communicate but not engage in physical intimacy. When lovers are deprived of that intimacy, they lose a crucial way of expressing their feelings for each other, and the relationship changes, usually for the worse".

My source is linked here  https://www.manoanow.org/kaleo/opinion/lack-of-touch-kills-the-long-distance-relationship/article_74edbbf5-b9eb-5193-85e1-11161570640e.html

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You bring up some good points about the claim that technology has increased long-distance relationships. While both the Medium article and your sources talk about how things like Facetime and social media help couples stay connected, there’s not much solid evidence or research to back this up. The articles rely more on personal examples rather than facts or studies, which weakens the argument. While technology clearly makes long-distance communication easier, it’s hard to say for sure if more people are in these relationships because of it, since we don’t have clear data. That said, the idea that technology helps long-distance couples stay close does make sense.

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I am skeptical of your source that you linked because there isn't any real data or studies to back the claim that the lack of touch in long distance relationships kills them. I would argue that technology and touch cannot be argued in the same post because they are two different things. However, I think that technology has been a use of long distance that has united us through Facetime and social media (as stated in the original article). So I would agree that technology is helpful for long distance relationships, but the lack of touch is a whole different thing. Each relationship is different and this article https://2date4love.com/long-distance-relationship-statistics/#:~:text=The%20average%20long%2Ddistance%20relationship,survive%20the%20long%2Ddistance%20phase.
mentions the different statistics of different long distance relationships and their success rates based on different factors. I think that this is a more accurate way to make a claim, with many different factors involved instead of just looking at one thing like touch.