One of the themes this year is “distance”. I spend 90 percent of the year communicating with my family via email, Skype and phone, so I can relate to distance as a social problem. On the family level, distance is a tangible barrier to overcome. Some technologies help shrink this distance, but there is a lot of room for development.

I have already mentioned one distance-shrinking technology: Skype. The service is a revolution. Previously, the main alternative was expensive long distance calls. Skype cuts the cost of communicating with my family to almost nothing (I still occasionally have to make calls on my cell phone). It is much easier to stay in touch.

Moreover, the quality of our communication is better. Before Skype, I spent a lot of time emailing photos back and forth with my family. We now use video chats, so I can just show my mom my new haircut, she can show me what’s growing in the yard and my sister can give me a tour of her new apartment. In effect, the distance between us has shrunk again. I feel like I am almost there.

Of course, Skype chats are not the same as actually being there. For that, I need a long distance flight. Short of flying home (which I do about once a year), there must be many other opportunities for clever technology to make a real impact.

I’m off to study for two more exams, but I’ll be thinking about this problem. I welcome any comments.

Image credit: anyjazz65