Long Distance Family

By Melanie Rose

Do you miss your family? Have you spent the entire pandemic struggling to figure out how to bring everyone together and feel like a solid family unit? Do one or more members of your family live far away or on their own, and you want to do everything you can to keep them close? If you are like most families, better communication would solve most—if not all—of your conflict and stress. Separation from loved ones, as we've all recently learned, can be grueling and can change our perspectives about what good communication even really is. This book aims to help navigate that new world of post-pandemic separations with the lessons we've learned along the way as a society full of families. From separation due to pandemic lockdowns, long distance, or conflict, into the hopeful new world as we get back on our feet again, this book aims to help families learn how to communicate. Answering every question from how to cultivate intimacy without losing your personal identity, to how to properly use Instagram for communicating, The Long Distance Family: Keeping Communications and Family Relationships Strong When Living Far Apart serves as your guide book to keeping your family close in spirit under a variety of circumstances. Covering technological advancements, the very best of family therapy research, and a few stories of real-life people, there is a little something here for everyone who would like their family to communicate better, feel closer, and build a foundation for stronger relationships.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melrose Holdings
• Release date: Nov 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201040369

Book preview

Book Description

Do you miss your family? Have you spent the entire pandemic struggling to figure out how to bring everyone together and feel like a solid family unit? Do one or more members of your family live far away or on their own, and you want to do everything you can to keep them close? If you are like most families, better communication would solve most—if not all—of your conflict and stress. Separation from loved ones, as we’ve all recently learned, can be grueling and can change our perspectives about what good communication even really is. This book aims to help navigate that new world of post-pandemic separations with the lessons we’ve learned along the way as a society full of families.

If the world was ever sane, it has certainly gone crazy lately. From digital enhancements, to the divides they’ve created, to the fast-paced lives we’re all racing through, the steady anchor of solid family communication has never been more valuable or more necessary. While the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world and deepened chasms between family members already separated by distance, divorce, and lifestyle differences, people brought their technology and their willingness to learn to the table. Now, we as a world are finally able to begin using the words after the pandemic in more than a vaguely hopeful way. Even as our heads spin from the collective rollercoaster we’ve all been white-knuckling for over a year, we are left to evaluate the state of the world and our relationships, as they are now on the other side of the trauma we’ve shared. Communication may be difficult. Getting back into routines of going places to spend time with loved ones, though travel was wildly accessible before, may take some getting used to again. Fault lines that existed in family communication long before there was nothing left to do but communicate are likely to expose themselves once busy people return to busy life.

Driven by the needs of corporations and consumers during lockdowns across the world, technology and psychology alike have been working on closing the gap between needs and solutions. Individuals faced with the necessity of understanding certain means of communication in order to keep their livelihoods are now able to grasp technological concepts that would have made them shrink back in uncertainty a year ago. The means of communication are changing every day, and families of every shape and size, though they may have previously been unaffected by these changes in technology, have found that they only stand to benefit from embracing those changes.

From separation due to pandemic lockdowns, long distance, or conflict, into the hopeful new world as we get back on our feet again, this book aims to help families learn how to communicate. Answering every question from how to cultivate intimacy without losing your personal identity, to how to properly use Instagram for communicating, The Long Distance Family: Keeping Communications and Family Relationships Strong When Living Far Apart serves as your guide book to keeping your family close in spirit under a variety of circumstances. Covering technological advancements, the very best of family therapy research, and a few stories of real-life people, there is a little something here for everyone who would like their family to communicate better, feel closer, and build a foundation for stronger relationships.

Long Distance Family

Keeping Communications and Family Relationships Strong When Living Far Apart

Melanie Rose

© Copyright 2021 - All rights reserved.

The content contained within this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author or the publisher.

Under no circumstances will any blame or legal responsibility be held against the publisher, or author, for any damages, reparation, or monetary loss due to the information contained within this book, either directly or indirectly.

Legal Notice:

This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part, or the content within this book, without the consent of the author or publisher.

Disclaimer Notice:

Please note the information contained within this document is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All effort has been executed to present accurate, up to date, reliable, complete information. No warranties of any kind are declared or implied. Readers acknowledge that the author is not engaged in the rendering of legal, financial, medical or professional advice. The content within this book has been derived from various sources. Please consult a licensed professional before attempting any techniques outlined in this book.

By reading this document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances is the author responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, that are incurred as a result of the use of the information contained within this document, including, but not limited to, errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

Table of Contents

Preface: COVID-19 Imperatives

Distance Learning and Work

Physical Distancing, Masks, and Other Impediments

Social Distancing

Chapter 1: Families in the Current Age

Working From Home & Pandemic Migration

Extended Families: Little Kids & Grandparents

Other Families of Note: College Relationships, Close Career Contacts, Significant Others, Friends, & Siblings

Chapter 2: Distance Communication & Social Interaction

Leveraging Professional Tools for Communication

Zoom

WhatsApp

Social Media

Long-Form Digital Communication

Digital Inequality

Chapter 3: Social Media & Caring Across Distance

Intentional Social Media for the Modern Family

Helpful Social Media Apps and How to Use Them

Facebook

Instagram

SnapChat

Life360

TikTok

Chapter 4: The Mental Health Imperative

General Mental Health in the Family

Introduction to a Model for Communication in Families

Chapter 5: Intimacy

Conversation Orientation

Chapter 6: Individuality

Maintaining a Sense of Self While at Home

Individuality and Unity in the Family

Chapter 7: Conformity Orientation

Understanding Nonconformity

Creating a Welcoming Family Environment

Chapter 8: External Factors

Approaching External Obstacles

Taking Time to Refocus as a Family

Chapter 9: Mobile Devices

Handsfree Options

Chapter 10: Leveraging Social Media

Photos, Tagging, and Credit

Comments, Likes, and Direct Messages

Emoji, Bitmoji, and Gif

Chapter 11: Communication Consistency Basics

Conclusion

References

Preface: COVID-19 Imperatives

Before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world in the early months of 2020, travel between countries and even continents were as easy as charging your credit card and showing off your passport. These advances in the accessibility of travel meant that industries were beginning to offer opportunities for expansion and professional development on a global scale, with incentives for relocating. Near-universal accessibility to multiple methods of travel meant that even as people spread out across cities, regions, and oceans, the ability to see their families was only a ticket away at a moment’s notice. In the meantime, the rapid advancements in technology over recent decades have made it easier than ever for families to stay connected while living apart. This comfort in knowing that it was possible to go home, if necessary, gave many people comfort in being geographically disconnected, and it held significant weight in the Pros and Cons lists of those who were considering relocating away from their loved ones. This image of comfort and accessibility was quickly shattered as travel restrictions were raised and borders were closed in the effort to slow down the spread of the virus.

Even for families who live in the same household—families with young children or multi-generational households—many aspects of the pandemic have put a strain on the ability of families to stay connected. Parents who work in more high-risk environments either as essential service employees, healthcare workers, or others in frequent contact with people are faced with the stress of not only doing their job correctly in the ever-changing landscape of safety precautions, but also the responsibility of considering whether they are putting their family (as well as their own health) at risk.

Yet, the concept of stress, distance, and disconnection has been present in families well prior to COVID. The challenge we all face at the end of the day is to leverage the momentum and technology of the present day to address an age-old problem of family communication. Whether families are separated by distance, restrictions, self-isolation, conflicting routines, or even emotional barriers, there are many tools available to help foster healthy communication and a sense of togetherness within the family unit.

Over the course of the pandemic and continuing as we begin to come out the other side of it, there have been many advances in the types of technology that are meant for the sole purpose of keeping people together. In a time where loneliness, fear, and isolation have been at their peak, the tools, apps, and devices available for anyone who might be willing to learn have also seen a steady rise in both popularity and growth.

In a study published for the journal Social Media + Society, researchers took note of the changes in digital communication over the past year, while also making an effort to determine what the long-term effects and implications of those changes may be:

While specific restrictions vary between countries, government policies to handle the coronavirus outbreak often involve closing schools, non-essential physical shops and businesses, and limiting public transportation and spaces, as well as social gatherings. Under these circumstances, public interaction has drastically decreased. With the change in opportunities to meet in person, new challenges arose to remain socially connected. (Nguyen et al., 2020)

The authors go on to share that the usage of various digital forms of communication have gone up by 40-60% in homes throughout America.