How To Keep Phone Calls Interesting In A Long Distance Relationship
As society delves deeper and deeper into the digital age, maintaining a long-distance relationship has never been easier. With a smartphone and internet connection, many of us have the ability to connect with our loved ones, face-to-face in mere seconds.
While video calling, texting and other digital means have vastly opened the lines of communication for many, upholding a long-distance relationship continues to have its caveats. For many of us, our day-to-day routines remain largely the same which may lead to feeling as if we lack interesting conversation points to present to our long-distance partners.
Though this feeling presents its fair share of challenges, being limited to verbal communication can offer an opportunity to get to know your partner on a uniquely intimate level. In this article, we will explore fun ways to keep phone calls interesting in a long-distance relationship.
Tips For Keeping Phone Calls Interesting
It is often said that healthy relationships take work to maintain. This statement tends to ring true even more so when it comes to long distance relationships. Though distance has its pitfalls, it simultaneously creates space to truly get to know the ins and outs of your partner’s thoughts, feelings and interests.
With the continuous advent of virtual communication options, there are a number of ways to get to know your partner and maintain that spark from miles away. Below are ten tips for keeping your phone calls interesting in a long distance relationship.
Choose a TV series to watch together.
Streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu and HBO Max have made it easier than ever to keep up with our favorite series from anywhere at any time. Choosing a television series to watch together can offer a great point of discussion for an extended period of time.
Schedule time to watch your chosen show together, or coordinate your watch pace. Make time for a phone call after each episode, and share your thoughts, feelings and predictions.
Try choosing a show that piques both of your interests. Some popular binge-worthy shows include Breaking Bad, Succession, Lost, Westworld, Arrested Development and many more.Schedule virtual dates.
While casual phone calls are a vital part of long distance relationships, scheduling dedicated “dates” is a great way to keep romance alive from afar. If possible, set a weekly time to meet via Facetime, Zoom, or other means of video calling.
Ordering similar food, playing a game, or planning a virtual beer or wine tasting can all serve as fun virtual date activities for you and your long distance love.Play video games together.
Though online gaming is typically associated with titles like Call of Duty and Fortnite, there are multitude of online games available for any type of “gamer”. Consoles like the Nintendo Switch offer a number of multiplayer games such as Mario, Yoshi, and Kirby games. Additionally, nearly every traditional board game such as chess, Monopoly, and trivia games are often available to play with a partner online. Choose an area of interest with your partner and see what online games would be fun to play together.
Plan your next in-person visit.
In-person visits are typically a vital part of any long distance relationship, and planning these visits takes both time and effort. Planning dates, locations and activities for upcoming visits is a great point of discussion for those in long distance relationships.
Make planning calls more interesting by each selecting activities, restaurants, or other fun things you may want to incorporate into your next visit.
5. Send photos and videos of your day-to-day life.
Sending frequent photos or videos of the things you come across in your day-to-day life can be a fun way to keep long distance conversations interesting. For example, sending a photo of a pretty bird or cute dog you crossed paths with can make you and your partner feel more connected throughout the day.
Additionally, sending selfies or “saucy” photos can serve as an easy way to ignite romance and excitement. Apps like Snapchat are great for sending casual photos and videos back and forth with ease.
Do chores or run errands “together”.
Doing chores and running errands are not necessarily fun activities, but doing these things with your partner “by your side” can make them more interesting. With wireless headphones and headsets, calling your partner before doing the dishes or running into the store can make it feel as though you are executing your daily routines together.Check-in about communication needs.
Long distance relationships require a considerable amount of communication to maintain a strong bond between partners. Frequently checking in with each other regarding your level of communication and individual needs can be helpful.
For example, more texts, calls or dedicated video calls may be vital to maintaining your relationship. Discussing these needs over the phone can provide comfort and clarity for both parties.Plan for the future.
Typically, those of us in long distance relationships hope to eventually move toward an in-person relationship at some point in time. If you are at a point in the relationship where living together is a realistic goal, start discussing these future plans.
Things like location, options for work, living arrangements, and so on tend to take a significant amount of thought and planning and will likely require fairly continuous conversation.Send each other small surprises.
Receiving a small gift or package typically brings a smile to nearly anyone’s face. Surprising your partner with flowers, lunch, a handwritten letter or a small gift are great ways to keep romance alive and drum up a fun, easy topic to discuss on your next phone call.Be sure to check-in daily.
While long, daily phone calls may not be possible depending on your situation, a quick daily check-in can help to keep you and your partner feeling connected. A daily “good morning” or “goodnight” text, or a quick call to say “Hello, I miss you,” may help to maintain the trust and comfort in your long-distance relationship.
Navigating Long-Distance Relationships
Despite the numerous ways to keep long-distance relationships fun, intimate and engaging, distance can present a multitude of unique challenges to navigate. Typically, trust and communication are vital to maintaining a relationship from afar, yet both of these necessities can be complex and difficult to uphold without guidance or understanding.
If you are struggling to maintain a relationship with a long-distance partner, online therapy may help. A recent uptick in digital mental health intervention has created a number of opportunities for long-distance couples to participate in couples therapy. In additional to individual therapy, recent research has shown online couples therapy to be equally as effective as in-person therapy.
Due to the nature of long-distance relationships, the flexibility and accessibility of online therapy is often required for those seeking guidance in navigating long-distance love.
Takeaway
Though long-distance love has its drawbacks, a little bit of communication and creativity tends to go a long way in keeping the spark alive. Frequent and open conversations as well as active listening and understanding will likely reveal a multitude of things you and your partner can do to keep your regular phone calls fun and interesting from afar.
Commonly Asked Questions
What do people talk about in long distance relationships?
What questions should I ask my long distance boyfriend?
How do you spice up a long distance conversation?
How do you keep a long distance conversation going over text?
Second date ideas: What should I ask my boyfriend when bored?
What are some fun relationship questions?
Some fun, interesting long distance relationship questions to help you both feel closer can include:
- What are some of your favorite childhood memories?
- What was the best and worst part of your week?
- Describe your favorite dish
- What kind of games (video games, board games, etc.) do you like to play?
- Are you close with your parents?
- Tell me something interesting that happened to you recently
- What helps you focus and feel centered?
- What’s your favorite TV show right now? Favorite movie? Why?
- What’s one moment in your life that has really stuck out to you?
These are just a handful of examples of topics that you can chat about with your significant other to foster some deeper, interesting conversations and help create greater feelings of connection despite being apart. It’s ok if you or they don’t always have an answer to the questions – the important thing is that it gets you both thinking and talking in new ways with one another, and sometimes it can just be helpful to hear one another’s voices. You can also find topics and ideas to chat about by just thinking about things that are interesting to you and/or your partner, chatting about those, or discussing things that have stuck out to you from your day, week, etc. If you are not yet in a relationship and are looking for things to talk about with your crush, the topics enumerated above can also be used to get to know someone better.
How can I impress my boyfriend while chatting?
How can I talk interesting with my boyfriend?
How do I have a deep conversation with my boyfriend?
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