[5] Even though scholars have reported a significant number of LDRs in undergraduate populations, long-distance relationships continue to be an understudied phenomenon.
A qualitative study that conducted 50 interviews with adult migrant children in Australia and their parents in Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands found that geographically separated family members generally exchanged all types of care and support that proximate families did, including financial, practical, personal, accommodation, and emotional or moral support.
[12] The prevalence of Internet technologies has facilitated remote family members’ emotional exchange, and provided them with the opportunity of accessible and affordable long-distance communication on a daily basis for sustaining relationships.
[12] Cao (2013) conducted a series of interviews with 14 individuals who constantly communicated with family members living in different time zones, namely the UK, US, Canada, and China.
[13] The real-time interactivity from synchronous communication provides a sense of presence, connectedness, and dedication between family members, which is regarded by Cao as an essential component of emotional support.
For instance, through surveying a sample of 755 Mexican households with at least one family member who had migrated to the US, researchers reported that left-behind children might benefit economically from the remittances their parents sent home while suffering emotionally from long-term separation.
[15][non-primary source needed] Similar results were found by Lahaie, Hayes, Piper, and Heymann (2009), a correlational study investigating the relationship between parental migration and children's mental health outcomes using a representative sample of transnational families in Mexico and the US.
[16][non-primary source needed] The feeling of being abandoned by parents is proposed to be one of the reasons that the children commit to undesirable behaviors such as quitting school or gang involvement as retaliation.
Similarly, Nickels(2019)[20] investigates relationships involving incarcerated partners, highlighting challenges such as restricted communication, societal stigma, and significant financial burdens.
In commuter relationships, where partners reside in different cities, regular visits and communication help maintain their connection.
Research by Rhodes(2002)[21] indicates that these relationships can endure through a mix of in-person meetings and digital communication, providing flexibility despite the physical distance.
These relationships heavily depend on technology for communication,[22] which facilitates bridging cultural divides and enhancing mutual understanding between partners.
LDR partners claim their communication is more purposeful but have higher levels of conflict when they move to live close to each other However, Tara Suwinyattichaiporn(2017)[7] mentioned one positive aspect of long-distance relationships (LDRs) that gives them an advantage over geographically close relationships (GCRs): the opportunity to have higher quality interactions during the time that is spent with each other.
Moreover, according to Stafford[24](2010) the lack of physical proximity and the fact that the relationship is often considered taboo to have such conversations with a partner who lives nearby are normal and beneficial for LDRs .
Because of the communication restrictions and the overall process of deployment, this leaves the partner back home feeling lonely, and stressing on how to keep a strong relationship moving forward.
[19] Most of the knowledge regarding changes in military long-distance relationships is based on research carried out in a particular cultural and geographical settings, namely American.
These barriers include limited intimacy due to prison restrictions, high communication costs, physical distance, and stress about the future with an incarcerated partner.
It may not hold true in every country because the structure of prison systems, cultural differences, and financial situations can greatly affect these kinds of relationships.
[27] Before the popularity of internet dating, long-distance relationships were not as common, as the primary forms of communication between the romance lovers usually involved either telephone conversations or corresponding via mail.
Couples who have routine, strategic relational maintenance behaviors, and take advantage of social media can help maintain a long-distance relationship.
[32] Having positivity (making interactions cheerful and pleasant), openness (directly discussing the relationship and one's feelings), assurances (reassuring the partner about the relationship and the future), network (relying on support and love of others), shared tasks (performing common tasks) and conflict management (giving the partner advice) are some of the routine and strategic relation maintenance behaviors [33] The differentiation of social media usage during LDR consists of several actions, including video-calls(Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Viber, Skype, Discord, Telegram etc), phone-calls, and everyday chatting.
Research of Abel, Machin and Brownlow(2020)[34] discusses the main themes regarding interactions in a social media context.
According to Morgan R. Kuske(2020),[35] long-distance partners use social media to keep in contact such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter.
[36] There will be engaging in online-games (in Discord and other platforms), watching movies together (due to the technological advance of such services), sharing shortcut videos like in Tiktok and Reels in Instagram.
Additionally, utilizing technology to discover new locations together — such as through virtual museum tours or live-streamed travel experiences — can strengthen their sense of partnership.
Continuing, when a person lacks money for delivery or transportation, there is an opportunity to make various types of DIV’s, so called “hand-made” gifts.
Starting from the sensory bracelets, heartbeat rings, and ending with the adult toys, the variety for choice is increasing everyday.
This innovation seeks to close the emotional gap caused by physical separation by offering a way for partners to show affection.
Kiss messaging acts as a substitute for physical contact, enabling couples to perform intimate actions that would be unattainable due to distance.
[45] Based on the analysis of the open-ended responses, 97% of respondents noted some type of relationship change associated with the LD-GC (geographically close) transition.