Too often, tech is blamed for having a negative effect on Improve Your Relationships. Whether that is a whole family sitting down to dinner with their smartphones, friendships ending because of fighting over politics on social media or a tendency to eschew in-person socializing for doing so online, there are many ways that tech can interfere. However, it can also take a big role in improving relationships. It is simply a tool, and the key is to figure out how to make the tool work for you.
Communicate with Faraway People
Using tech to communicate might not be the best way to stay in touch with local friends and family when meeting face-to-face has so much more to offer, but it can be an excellent way to keep up with loved ones who are far away. Social media, texting, and video calling can all add an extra dimension and immediacy that phone calls cannot always provide and are significant enough as methods of communication that they are sometimes even written into child visitation agreements. Whether it is your children, parents, or other family members or just close friends, the advantage of these platforms is that you can quickly connect with people casually throughout the day. With the right arrangements in place, you can even attend some events, such as a child’s recital. Video conferencing lends itself well to hanging out with people who are geographically distant, talking, playing games, or even watching a movie or TV show together. Sending photos back and forth is another way to give a person a
sense of being there with you or at least seeing some of the same things you are experiencing. You can also share online experiences together, such as an escape room or an online cooking class that you all take together. There is also a reason that family texting groups or social media pages are popular. This can offer a degree of communication and closeness with more extended family that was never really possible before unless you lived very near each other. None of these experiences may be quite as good as being there in person; but they can replicate many of the same elements.
Work Toward Mutual Goals
The key with tech is making it work for you; and this means identifying what you need to do and figuring out how it can help you do it. You can use it to work toward mutual goals with friends, family, or a partner. In fact, some apps and other tools offer family plans for this reason. Many apps have social features that allow you to connect with others. If you and some friends or family members want to learn a language, lose weight, or participate in an activity; such as cycling, you can all sign up for the same app, connect and keep up with one another’s progress. This serves the dual purpose of allowing you to see what is going on in each other’s lives and also helps you move toward your goals. If you live with your partner, you can also use tech to help you reach a variety of goals. You might be
trying to cut back on expenses. While there are apps that can help you with tracking your spending and budgeting; you can also research other options, such as refinancing your student loans. A new loan may offer lower interest rates and lower monthly payments. Because financial issues are so often a source of conflict in Improve Your Relationships; tech as a tool to resolve those issues can be a game-changer.
Meeting Others
Tech can offer wonderful opportunities to meet like-minded others. There are situations in which you might not be able to get out to
meet the people you connect with online in person; such as if you are disabled in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for you to leave your home. However, while online relationships can offer a great deal in terms of friendship; if it’s possible, you should make an effort to try to meet those people in person. There is really no substitute for in-person meetings. There are many tools online that can help connect you to others in the real world; from meetup sites to social media and more. These meetups could be based on a specific shared interest, such as film or running or knitting; or you might all be people who gather at a specific forum or another site to discuss various things. Of course, the internet also offers many different types of dating apps; and these can be excellent ways to find an intimate for Improve Your Relationships.
Are you notoriously bad at remembering your anniversary or your spouse’s birthday? Does Mother’s Day or Father’s Day routinely pass you by? Do you
often forget about plans you’ve made with a friend until you get a text from them saying they’ve been waiting half an hour for you to turn up? If any of these scenarios sound familiar; it might be time to turn to bidding technology to solve these issues for you. In this day and age, there is absolutely no reason to miss meetings, birthdays, or any other commitments. You can simply set your app of choice to alert you before you are supposed to be somewhere. One of the challenges you may face in this is that you may need to start being pickier about what kind of notifications you receive. If you’re getting notifications for every game, message, or other activity that occurs; it is likely that they have become background noise for you. Turn off all but the most essential ones and never miss a meaningful date or appointment with someone again. Online interaction can have drawbacks, becoming more contentious than in-person conversations simply because it can be easy to lose sight of the idea of a real person at the other end. One way to combat this and Improve Your Relationships is to think in terms of a community. Whether the relationship is a personal one or based around work, a hobby or a
particular friend group; if you consider it a community of people, just like the community that you live in; this may make it easier to work through differences.