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Ivy, a technician at an IT company in Cyberjaya, believes that today’s communications technology has helped banish the phrase “out of sight, out of mind.”
“With webcams on computers and now, video calls via cellphones, you can see the person you’re talking to, unlike before,” says the 27-year-old who declined to have her full name published.
Working in Kuala Lumpur, Ivy is away from her family in Sabah and her guy in Singapore.
But since her better half comes up to meet her quite often, she is happy to communicate with him through chat programs on her PC.
It is keeping up to date with her family that takes up more of her attention. “We regularly exchange SMSes and e-mail messages, and there’s the occasional phone call,” she says. “It is reassuring for them to know that I am just an instant away despite the distance between us.”
Ivy also regards the Internet as a godsend for those in long distance relationships.
“Although instant messanger and e-mail messages can be bland compared to long letters, these help stem the ‘water works’ that come when it’s time for us to say farewell after a visit,” she says. “Aside from the physical, it’s as though we aren’t apart, thanks to instant communication.”
The Internet has also helped her rekindle old friendships with friends scattered all over the country, through community sites like Friendster and MySpace.
“Whenever I go on Friendster, it’s like a virtual reunion,” says Ivy.
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