Let’s face it: being separated from your friends is hard. Maybe you attend different schools, live far from each other, or just have schedules that always clash. And it’s easy to grow apart from people you don’t see often. Keeping up to date with someone you see every day at the same place and time is different from staying in touch with someone you have to check in with on a regular basis: checking in with people requires effort, after all!

Fortunately, tech makes checking in with someone easier than ever. If you want to stay in better touch with someone but don’t know how to keep the connection going, or if you want to get to know someone who’s far away, check out these tips! 

There’s an app for that. 

Everyday ways to connect to someone include calling, texting, and messaging. But it doesn’t stop there: by using the many social media outlets widely available to the public, you can to get a message to your friend in an instant. Send a snapchat, or tag a friend in a meme on Facebook or Instagram. Tumblr, Twitter, Pinterest, and similar forms of social media are great to use for contacting your friends. Social Media is fun, and usually gives you a lot to talk about.

Don’t overthink it.

Sometimes it can hard to decide when to call someone. Fears of being awkward start to pop up: “What if they’re busy? I can’t think of what to say.” But if someone is on your mind, that’s already a great excuse to reach out, especially if you haven’t heard from them in a while. Just tell them you were wondering how they were doing. We all love knowing we crossed someone’s mind—doesn’t it make you happy to receive calls like that?

Keep the conversation fresh.

Want to check in with someone but not sure what to talk about? Get inspiration from life. Send your friend a meme, tell them about something awesome that happened today, recommend a song to them, or text them about what they posted on their social media. Talk about something you and your friend connect with.

Checking up on someone never hurts. Find out what your friends are up to, or if they’ve been taking care of themselves. Keeping in contact with friends is beneficial for both you and your friends to have a person to talk to. It’s good to cherish those bonds, so you should make time for contacting people! Everyone does have their own life to live, but we all enjoy hearing from old friends: you can laugh about the “then”, and keep adding to the “now”. And if you and your friend don’t live too far from each other, you can message them about meeting up. You’ll get to hang out and create new memories to add to your friendship.