Distance means nothing and everything: how interpersonal media use with long-distance friends is associated with individual well-being

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Strong social connections, even across distances, can contribute to greater well-being. Drawing from communicate bond belong theory, the present study explored interpersonal media use (voice calls, video calls, email, and texting) within geographically proximate and distant friendships. Utilizing data from two U.S. nationally representative datasets (2022 N = 671, 2023 N = 869), we tested for differences in interpersonal media use based on geographic proximity, and how interpersonal media use related to connection and loneliness. While people used interpersonal media more frequently with geographically close friends, interpersonal media use with geographically close and distant friends was a predictor of connection and loneliness. In both years, email and voice calls contributed to greater connection and less loneliness. Texting predicted less connection and more loneliness, and video calls had inconsistent effects.