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Is texting hurting your connection with others? Psychologists wanted to know if talking face-to-face feels better than communicating by text, video chat, or phone, and how these different ways of talking affect our well-being. 

Researchers studied over 800 adults in German-speaking countries who reported how often they talked to close friends and family using different methods: in person, by phone, by video call, or through digital messages like texting and emailing. Participants also rated how connected and supported they felt afterward. 

Results? Talking in person led to the strongest feelings of happiness and connection. Phone and video calls were helpful, but less effective than in-person conversations. Digital messages were the least effective - people felt less close, even with loved ones. Research shows that how we communicate matters just as much as who we talk to. Face-to-face conversations were best for mental health, while video chats offered only a slight improvement over texting. 

The study’s results suggest how we communicate matters just as much as who we talk to. If you want to feel truly close to someone, try meeting in person or at least talking out loud. A real voice, or a real face, can go a lot further than a screen of words.