What is the other way to say “stay in touch”?

Question

In one of the statements that I'm writing, I wanted to express the idea that the Internet has helped one to stay in touch with friends. I wrote it this way:

It is undeniable that the Internet has helped people from losing friends that they don't have time to meet face-to-face.

The problem with this statement, however, is that I find it somewhat awkward and not fluent. The idea isn't sharp, either, with the way I phrased it. I could have used the phrase "stay in touch", but I also want to highlight the idea that it has helped keep people from losing friends whom they don't have time to meet often. And because the phrase "stay in touch" is very common, I hope I could say it in different words.

Any suggestions on how I could rephrase my statement?

Answer 1

A slightly more formal way of saying it is "retain contact":

It is undeniable that the Internet has helped people to retain contact with friends that they don't have time to meet face-to-face.

Answer 2

In rephrasing the sentence, aim for brevity. Drop the verbose "It is undeniable that", replace with "distant friends" the self-ironic "friends that they don't have time to meet face-to-face", say "helps" rather than "has helped".

For "stay in touch" one might say "reach out to" or "remain close to" and could consider phrases with verbs like say, communicate, converse, talk. Or you could use metaphor, like "The Internet lets far-separated people meet at a common table of friendship."

Answer 3

You could replace "touch" with contact to make the phrase "Stay in contact" or you could write it as "maintain contact". Less formally, you could use a phrase like "keep talking".

Answer 4

‘ . . . has helped people keep in touch with friends they don’t see very often.'

Answer 5

One comment on the grammar of the original sentence: We don't usually use from as a preposition with help or helped. I agree with the good advice given by others to simply the statement, but as an example of a repair of the helped-from form try this:

It is undeniable that the Internet has helped people avoid
losing friends that they don't have time to meet face-to-face.

Notice that we now "help avoid" something rather than "help from" something.

A good exercise is strip out the extra stuff in a sentence and take a look at its skeleton. It's often easier to spot the problem without the extra fat. In this case the original skeleton is:

The Internet has helped from losing friends.

Clearly

The Internet has helped avoid losing friends.

is better.

Answer 6

Consider:

It's clear that the Internet helps people stay in touch with many friends they might otherwise have lost contact with.

You can fiddle with this, of course, but the nice thing about it is that it uses the "stay in touch" phrase (which is obviously very appropriate, so it feels simple and natural) but still puts the emphasis on the alternative possibility of that not happening.

Answer 7

My suggestion, 'remain close.' Gives a pull in the different direction to people who can't meet together.

Answer 8

What are some concrete examples of "staying in touch"? List six or twelve of those and see whether that gives any ideas. You might be able to replace "stay in touch" with two or three evocative examples.