Essential Apps to Help You Survive the Pain of Long Distance

Whether you have a significant other who is far away or a best friend, the pain of distance is frustrating. While nothing on earth is perfect, I hope that the below apps will help you survive the distance.

Essential Apps to Help You Survive the Pain of Distance

I could never try all the apps on the market, but my boyfriend and I have discovered a few that have proven themselves worthy to be on this list. (I have also added a couple that have potential.) We will start with a personal favorite called Marco Polo!

Marco Polo

Besides God, this app was our anchor at one point. As my boyfriend has said many times, pictures and videos are the best way for long-distance couples (or friends) to feel more connected.

Once my boyfriend and I started using Marco Polo, our relationship grew much stronger. Before this app, we would record videos for each other throughout our regular lives, but Marco Polo takes sending videos to a whole other level.

It allows you to send a video as you record it. The receiver can then hop on the app and watch the video as you send it or watch it later. Unlike Snapchat, the videos stick around. There is also no time limit on the videos!

Messenger

If you need to send messages, voice recordings, and selfies on the same app that you video chat on, Messenger is a great choice!

However, if Messenger doesn’t work for you, I highly recommend trying the next app on this list.

Google Duo/Meet

At first, I thought that Google Duo was a mediocre app, but it proved itself otherwise after Messenger wouldn’t allow my boyfriend and I to video chat after a phone switch. It’s the ultimate multi-tasker. It happily offers the ability to:

• Video chat
• Capture Moments (take pictures while video chatting)
• Doodle
• Send voice messages, video clips, notes, pictures, and emoji reactions.

Disclaimer: As of writing this, Duo is going through a weird change. It is combining with Google Meet. I don’t know how this will affect the app.

Google Calendar

With Google Calendar, you can sign in with a shared email address and include each other in the events of life. Instead of putting something on your calendar and then telling your significant other (several times), just put the event on a shared calendar.

All you need to do is set up a shared email address. Just make sure you both know the password. 😉

As a gentle reminder, be mindful of what information you share. No one needs to know every time you are going to the store, gym, or gas station unless it is a safety protocol. If it is a safety protocol, it may be wiser to pick a relative or friend that is nearby.

Google Keep Notes

The possibilities are endless with this app. Obviously, I love to write, so it’s an awesome place for me to get ideas out of my head. It is also a place where my boyfriend and I can get both our ideas on the same piece of “paper”. Or keep score of an on-the-phone game. It’s as simple as inviting the person in question to join a note! Here are a few ideas:

• Craft a short story together by taking turns writing 3 to 5 words at a time. (You can also do this on a shared Google Doc file.)
• Do y’all always say something at the beginning or end of a phone call? Turn it into a competition and keep track of the score on a shared note. Whoever has the most points by the end of the month wins the challenge! For extra fun, include a prize for the winner.
• Create a bucket list of things you both would love to do together.
• Create a dictionary of random words y’all have invented.
• Write a song together.
• Keep track of plans for the next visit.

Have any other ideas? Comment them down below! I would love to hear them.

Glorify

Glorify is an amazing devotional app that allows friends to send prayers to one another. My boyfriend deserves the credit for finding this one. While I haven’t used it for sharing prayers, it is a great addition to my Bible time.

If Glorify isn’t your pace, try YouVersion. It allows you to read Bible plans together, keep track of each other’s reading, and so much more.

Goodreads

Goodreads is solely for the book lovers. My boyfriend prefers car+truck stats (it’s adorable), so we have never used Goodreads together. However, it has exciting potential.

If you are both competitive book lovers, start a reading goal for the year and see who can reach it first. Or take it a step further and see who can read the most books during the year. Want to help authors in the process? See who can leave the most reviews.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a personal favorite for those lazy days. Just start a phone call and hop on a server together. You could even start a gaming YouTube channel together!

Scrabble GO

Scrabble GO was much more exciting when I was better at it than my boyfriend. When he started to destroy me nearly every round, we stopped playing. I wonder why. 😉

Despite our Scrabble GO years dying, I still highly recommend it. It’s a great game to play together.

Pepper

I recently found this app and have been playing around with it. It is basically a social media solely for food. If you and your long-distance companion enjoy creating recipes, it is something to look into.

Not only can you use it to keep track of each other’s recipes, but it could also be turned into a competition. Y’all could post your recipes and see who gets the most hearts. It isn’t about which one tastes better, but simply how many people find your recipe and think it looks good.

If you have ever tried this app, let me know if you think it has potential. I’m not sure about it yet.

Conclusion

Thanks to advanced technology connection isn’t impossible at a distance. We just have to get creative.

Whether we read a paperback book or dance to our favorite songs over a phone call, my boyfriend and I have discovered that electronic devices can be blessings in disguise if used correctly.

What apps do you use to help alleviate the pain of distance? Who are counting down the days to visit? Let me know through the comments. I would love to chat!