Dear PropellerHeads: My son is about to leave for college several hours away. I don't want to annoy him, but I do want to stay in touch. He doesn't answer my e-mails, so that won't work. Do you have other suggestions?

A: Haven't you been holding your breath waiting for him to leave? Maybe not, but be sure NOT to hold your breath waiting for a letter at your mailbox ... that will likely never come!

I sent my first of three sons to college about 10 years ago. At that point, everyone (other than me) was on AIM, or America Online Instant Messaging (www.aim.com). I promptly joined the crowd, came up with a user name, and began "chatting" with my sons and my nieces and nephews.

While that worked to a degree, I was often annoyed that my son was talking to 40 friends at the same time. Sometimes my questions didn't get answered, but at least I knew he was still breathing. AIM is still widely used, especially as a background function, i.e. while playing an online game being able to still chat with friends.

Maybe Skype will work for you (www.skype.com). Skype allows you to both talk to and see your son. All you need is a computer, a Skype account, and a camera attached to your computer. Signing up for and using Skype is free for Skype-to-Skype calling. Skype also offers very good rates for Skype to telephone calling both for local calls and international calls, but it looks like you won't need that right now to check up on your son.

I will share that my middle son, a fairly normal millennial, thinks Skype is so yesterday. He prefers Google's product, Gchat (http://www.google.com/talk/). For that you will need a Gmail account. The account and the chat feature are free. As with Skype, calls to phones do incur fees.

If you don't yet have a Facebook account (www.facebook.com), join the masses and get one. My guess is that your son has had one for quite some time. It is the most popular social media site as of now and I doubt that will change in the near future. Not only will you be able to chat with your son if he's on Facebook at the same time, but you can leave messages if he's not.

I know that sounds a lot like e-mailing and you've said he ignores those, but Facebook messages are just from friend to friend. You're not likely to see too many random messages from folks you don't know, so the volume is much lower and easier to manage. You may have some luck there with your son. Facebook also integrates with Skype, Gchat and their wannabes, making it an even more valuable communication tool. Ask your son for a quick Facebook tutorial before he leaves. You want to make sure that only HE sees your messages. Posting directly to his Facebook page would likely embarrass him, but I must say I enjoy an occasional post specifically to embarrass my sons!

Twitter (www.twitter.com) may be another way to keep tabs on your son. Ask if he has a twitter account, and if so get one for yourself. While not as direct a communication tool, folks who use twitter often post their whereabouts. You may not know what he's going to do, but you will likely know what he just did, if that helps.

A rather unscientific poll of my youngest son's friends pointed out their most common form of keeping in touch is texting. If you don't already have a family cellular service plan, now might be the time to check into it. Be sure to get a plan with unlimited texting. Many a parent (and child) has been burned by enormous cell phone bills for thousands of texts. From the text volume by my sons on my family plan over the years, I think they must have been writing their college papers as texts to their professors!

Quit worrying and be grateful that he'll be gone until Thanksgiving break. You'll hear from him when he needs something for sure. Now back to that mailbox ... remember that care packages from home are always welcome, as are checks. Hope you're not holding your breath for a thank-you note!

When the PropellerHeads at Data Directions aren't busy with their IT projects, they love to answer questions on business or consumer technology. Email them to questions@askthepropellerheads.com or contact us at Data Directions Inc., 8510 Bell Creek Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23116. Visit our website at www.askthepropellerheads.com.