Keeping in touch

I think one of the hardest things in life is this thing called "keeping in touch".
The phrase in and of itself is interesting if you think about it.
Since I can't physically touch anyone I even remotely know, I will try various other methods (facebook, blog checking, phone calls, emails, etc) to make sure the relationship between me and these other people are just as strong as if I were physically there and able to touch them.
And if you think about that, that's REALLY hard! Cause no matter what I do in the virtual world, nothing beats physical presence. It's convenient. Fast. Effective. I can better feel out what the person needs and adjust accordingly.
And it makes me think of biblical times (OT and NT)...did people do this "keeping in touch" business? And if they did, how? How did they show that they still cared about someone and loved them? (Cause that's the purpose of keeping in touch isn't it?) I know there was a significant amount of letter writing and it was probably the best you could do in those days...So how did people maintain relationships then if that was the best they could do? Perhaps the bond between fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is stronger than I think it to be and there's something that I'm not tapping into here...
Of course I'm not condoning people to slack off about keeping in touch and what not...I'm merely suggesting that perhaps there's a better way to do this? And maybe there's not and I just need to get over myself and my dislike of phone conversations, chatting, etc.
It probably all comes down to proper time investment. Is it more effective for my friendships if I spend 1 hr on facebooking and blog checking or 1 hr calling them and talking to them? Probably the latter and yet I don't do it....

And why did I write this post? It's because I haven't really talked to any of my friends (chatting, phone calls, or skype) since the end of May. Soo, it's been almost 2 months. There was an email or two between then and now (from both parties) but still...emails are even lower on the "keeping in touch" ladder and easily relegated to the "I'll answer it later" pile. And 2 months may not seem like a big deal in the big scheme of things...but I know me and it could very easily become a whole year and I will not have had any contact with friends whatsoever.
It's a struggle within myself that has yet to be decided...and probably won't be decided tonight though people who read this post will probably feel like the answer is glaringly obvious.