Universal broadband helps gappers stay in touch with home

As broadband coverage increases around the world, it has never been easier to keep in touch with loved ones while away from home on a gap year.

The advent of the internet means it is no longer necessary to phone up family and friends in the middle of the night, racking up a fortune in international charges for a few quick words.

Nowadays, the majority of gappers choose to keep in touch with people back home using the web - with email, instant messaging and social media readily available across geographical boundaries.

And with an increasing number of countries upgrading their broadband networks using super-fast fibre-optic technology, gappers may also find it easier to use VoIP and Skype services, enabling them to call home over the internet.

In some locations, web conferencing technology will enable them to establish a video link up, helping to cure any homesickness in an instant.

When people head away on a gap year, it is inevitable that they will miss family and friends at some point, and vice versa.

As such, keeping in touch in between their many adventures is a positive thing all round, it enables them to concentrate on having the time of their life, while easing any concerns parents, grandparents and siblings may have.

With internet usage continuing to rise, the web may be the best tool available for keeping in touch with all members of the family.

Latest figures from the UK Office for National Statistics indicate that 41.99 million UK adults - or 83.5 per cent of the population - had used the internet by the end of 2011.

This was up from 82.0 per cent at the end of September, with usage increasing among over-65s as older people recognised the benefits of the internet.

So the majority of people should be able to pick up an email - providing gap year participants make the effort to send one.

If you are volunteering in a tiny mountain village, or trekking through the jungle, it may still be the case that an internet connection is not readily available.

But in virtually every town and city around the world, the web is becoming a vital utility and very much a way of life - so there can be no excuses for not contacting home every once in a while.

Click here for gap year advice.