By Tham Yuen-C

CHANGING in my bedroom, which I share with my sister, has become a bit of a hazard these days.

Just last week, I walked into the room and there it was. Sitting on my sister's bed was her laptop, powered up, with the Web camera switched on.

If I had started undressing, without realising it, I would have run the risk of flashing one of her friends miles away.

You see, sister dear has taken to video chatting these days with her boyfriend who is studying in Sydney and, occasionally, with her friends from around the world.

Most of the time, both parties are dressed in their tatty home clothes and slumped in bed just talking.

Not much of a sight to behold.

Despite that, I am told, video chatting is the next best thing to air travel when it comes to surmounting the thousands of kilometres between them.

Well, virtually anyway.

Being able to see someone apparently has the effect of making them feel "nearer". You also get to see each other's expression and body language, visual cues that make up a big part of human communication.

Last year, about a quarter of all Skype-to-Skype calls between computer users went the video route.

According to the social presence theory by John Short, Ederyn Williams and Bruce Christie way back in 1976, the medium of communication - be it letters, e-mail messages or a telephone call - affects a person's awareness of his or her partner.

For instance, reading a letter is comfortably done in solitude whereas, and here I add to the theory, a video chat makes you more aware that there is another party "around".

A video chat I observed seemed to support the theory: it was peppered with many pregnant pauses yet the parties hung on.

If it had been a phone conversation, the two parties would have no doubt hung up much earlier.

However, in that video chat, even when the chatter was not flowing, there was a reason to stay connected - just to know the other party is there.

Soon, lovebirds will be able to heighten this awareness. Researchers around the world are coming up with ways to keep in touch. Sometimes, literally.

In Singapore, scientists at the Keio-NUS Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments (Cute) Centre, which opened last week, have invented a device that will let people give virtual hugs.

It comprises a doll, that the hug giver will hold, and a set of pyjamas, that the person receiving the hug will wear. When the hug giver manipulates the doll, it sends signals to the pyjamas over the Internet. Air pockets in the pyjamas will then inflate, generating pressure which simulates a hug.

At the Distance Lab in Scotland, a research agency focusing on the theme of distance and connectedness, researchers are testing out a device that lets long-distance couples project images and drawings onto each other's bodies, as if they were touching each other.

As scientists discover more revolutionary uses for technology, there will be more ways to increase intimacy while apart. Couples and families separated by a geographical gulf may have to wait for these elaborate devices that can help reduce the physical angst of distance.

Thankfully, reducing the emotional blahs of being apart is simpler. All it takes is a simple text message: "Hugs".

yuenc@sph.com.sg

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.