3 Tips to Keep Your Long-Distance Friendship Lively
Posted on August 12 2020
Hello Cosme Hunters! 2020 has been a remarkably challenging year thanks to COVID-19, and every person has had a different struggle in order to keep things feeling normal. Personally, I have been doing lots of work here writing articles and whether you love my writing or this is your first time seeing it, I want to thank you for supporting all of us here! Reading, shopping and giving feedback helps everyone from the writers to our CEO.
Today to give back a little, I have a very special article full of advice on long distance friendships! There is no denying isolation and loneliness are some of the biggest challenges this year has brought, and we are all working hard to find ways to keep up with friends. Living with close friends in different time zones and having a long-distance best friend has given me tons of experience here, and here are my top tips for making and keeping important relationships from far away!
1. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Having your whole relationship with someone rely on phone calls and video chats alone can be scary, but it also presents an opportunity to develop some serious skills. These ideas take work, but good long-distance communication talent can last you for a whole life of new jobs and life changes even after COVID-19 is an old memory.
Facetime and Skype are fantastic face-to-face video tools, but sometimes after a long day of video calls for work or school they're the last thing you want to do. A few words from a good friend can be a huge pick-me-up when you're too busy to catch up properly, so have you considered how well you utilize texting and group chats? iMessage has some great tools for extra self expression like voice memos and emoji, but consider shopping around for new messaging apps this year!
Balancing popularity, affordability and quality is my absolute favorite app, Line. Line might be super commonplace depending where you're from, but it’s shocking how many people have never heard of it! The app is a highly customizable texting and calling machine with a deep library of stickers and themes from countless artists. Dropping just 5$ can get you multiple packs of fresh and fun new emotes, and the colorful selection of themes means you can make the app look just like you like! Before long you and your friends will be talking entirely through cute emotes and custom messages full of silly memories and sentiment.
My friends and I swear that Line stickers to send to loved ones are the best use of a dollar imaginable, but what if it’s time that you have too much of during quarantine? This is also an amazing opportunity to go out of your comfort zone and make a lovely letter- just having someone’s handwriting or a cute drawing in a Hallmark card sitting on my desk makes me feel so warm and cared for all day long.
2. Virtual Hangout Spaces
Now, this tip is definitely not for everyone- but have you ever used an app, game or website and carved out a little hangout space that feels like home? When pulled off well, a digital space of your own can totally close the physical distance between good friends with messages left that you can read regardless of time differences.
With a good group of friends and a little creativity, communication apps like Slack and Discord that are meant to create personal chat rooms and forums can really create that community feeling. These apps are generally free, and can be broken into channels based on interest- maybe you'll drop links for your favorite products in the J-Beauty channel or gush about how much you liked this article in your group's self-care chatroom! It takes some work to set up, but funneling conversations in a big group can really help you feel supported and homey over time. You may even get introduced to new friends!
If you're into games, or even have a friend or family member who is, there's a chance you've heard about the super popular Animal Crossing! There are tons of online games like it that have been popular this year because of how they let you and your friends hang out in real time! The cost of games and consoles can be a bit much for the average friend group, but if yours has the interest, make some extra time for virtual hangouts in comfy social online game spaces!
3. Giving Gifts!
At the end of the day, we all love to get a gift. As anyone who has ever been in a long-distance relationship knows, there are a million ways to express care and love through gift giving. But what are the best gifts to give a long distance bestie?
Into The Gloss has a lovely article on this, and my favorite idea they had is giving recommendations. Requiring neither time nor money, if you and your friend have a shared interest like Netflix shows of Spotify music, give a recommendation! Just keying into what your friend loves and discovering something new for them to try in their streaming service can provide hours and hours of joy that makes them think of you!
We all eventually get tired of social media and 2020's seemingly constant reliance on technology, so why not give your bff a little real-world relaxation? Spas may not be your thing right now, but with all of Cosme Hunt at your disposal, shop around for some products that are fun and relaxing to use! I'll give you a fun idea-
Available at Cosme Hunt
As I covered in my eye care article, Megrhythm steaming face masks are a super relaxing way to keep your eye muscles relaxed after long days of computer work. But what's better is the mindfulness opportunity! Sit back, feel the steam on your face and think of the awesome bestie who paid for your personal spa trip!
Long Distance Friendship Guru?
That's all I have for you today! Hacks like these come from taking life changes one day at a time and finding ways to keep my best friendships going after graduating high school, leaving colleges and more. From digital book clubs to saying "I love you" with a favorite Line Sticker I do personally believe in technology's ability to make us feel the warm fuzzies of friendship even in the hardest of times- so please take whatever tips you liked, pass them on, and never ever let life mess up your friendships!
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Arya Arsenault
Studies Japanese language and culture at the University of Massachusetts. Loves Japan’s pop culture and learning about its trends!
