I don't remember it being discussed. At that time, I and my parents lived in the USA, my one and only sibling in Israel. Me and my brother would exchange letters like may be twice a year. Likewise, my friends who lived in other cities, we exchanged letters just a few times a year max. So, it was normal for us not to communicate that much. It's not like we were texting each other every day and then suddenly went dark.
Also, parenting and childing were different back then (the 70's). For example, I remember when I was 16 I secretly hitchhiked solo from Detroit to Washington DC and then Chicago and back to Detroit. I explained my absence to my parents by telling them that I was riding with some friends to DC, that is, it was totally okay for three 16 year old boys to take off to another city back then. Now, I think a lot more parents wouldn't allow their kids to do that.
