Long Distance Relationships - Boon Or Bane?

For those who have neither the skill nor the confidence to make an in person relationship work, the options were few in 1980. You could go the pen pal path and learn to make friends or even learn to love at arms length. There was no real commitment other than to continue writing back and forth if you so chose. Fast forward to 2009 and you see a very similar picture, but instead of having to wait for a week or more, you get your reply in nano-seconds. Usher in the world of IM or instant messaging and the long distance romance.