As the most romantic day of the year approaches, those of us lucky in love are no doubt planning something special for our other half. From a simple red rose to a romantic meal, there’s a lot of pressure to show your other half how much you love them on Valentine’s Day. But what about those student couples in long-distance relationships?
With Valentines Day on the way, ParcelHero, have taken out a nationwide survey with YouGov, drawing attention to long-distance relationships that many students have through a survey.
Why are so many people in long-distance relationships? For people aged 16-24, the most common reason was attending University in a separate city, at 37%. What causes a make or break relationship is different for everyone but there are some common factors associated with these relationships. Interestingly, feeling a lack of trust, and jealousy was the least of people’s concerns, with just 4% and 3% of people respectively finding them to be the biggest challenge. However, 7% did say that they found infidelity to be the case. The most challenging aspect of long-distance relationships was the lack of physical intimacy with 32% of all people and specifically 40% of 16-24-year-olds, finding this to be the case.
It is surprising to see the number of students and young people in long-distance relationships even when 6% of people in long-distance relationships have NEVER met their partner. Over a third (35%) of those are under 25.
One respondent said: “The hardest part was talking day in, day out but not seeing each other for months.”
Another said: “The physical separation of not having that person with me every day.”
Difficulties communicating was also a bigger challenge for 16-24-year-olds (23%) than the national average (17%). With the rise of online relationships, it is always encouraged to be careful of who you are talking to and meeting with, always take a friend along with you if you have never met them before.
It is not surprising that the younger generation is the ones who used messaging apps as their primary method of communication with their long-distance partner. A whopping 83% of 16-24-year-olds reported using apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Facebook Messenger to keep in touch.
Make the most of Valentine’s Day, whilst you may not be able to be together for whatever reason, that does not stop you from sending a card in the post or using amazon to deliver a gift. With facetime and messaging you can still make your day special and even celebrate when you next see them. In fact, it doesn’t just have to be valentines day that you celebrate your love and affection for each other.
By Abi Trunk
Feature image courtesy of Unsplash