Keep in Touch Through Social Media Tools

These social networking websites and other services make it easy and affordable to keep in touch with loved ones near and far.

The Digital Era

This article originally appeared on LearnVest.com. 

Keeping in touch with family is priceless. Given the ever-rapid increase in technology, it’s become more and more digitized…and free. We’re lucky to be part of this generation. Just a decade ago, if you moved away from your family, there weren’t many options other than the phone—which could have easily cost more than $20 per month, depending where you moved and how often you spoke. So, take advantage of everything that our current era has to offer!

Before our mom was good at using email, she once mailed us an envelope—via snail mail—with the email addresses of her friends so that we could input them into her online address book for her. (True story.) Now that we’ve converted her to this thing called the internet, both of our lives are much easier. She can view our digital photos without making us print and mail them; we can send her messages when it’s too late to call; she can approve of the new person we’re seriously dating by viewing his Facebook profile even though she lives in another state; we can talk and video chat for free, even when we’re working in another country.

All the same, there are a lot of social sharing tools to keep track of. Here’s a rundown of the various free ways to keep in touch with loved ones that you should take advantage of.