Social media has transformed the way we meet and interact with each other. It has provided a platform to learn more about the people you associate with. However, there lies the problem when it comes to a romantic relationship or marriage.
Research shows that increased usage of social media may lead to marital problems, infidelity, and divorce.
It’s not only what a person does on social media, but also how much time he/she spends doing it that can create conflict. Excessive time spent on social media has been shown negative impacts on romantic relationships.
A recent study, published in Computers in Human Behavior, compared state-by-state divorce rates to per-capita Facebook accounts. The study found a link between social media use and decreased marriage quality in every model analyzed. It also found that a 20% annual increase in Facebook enrollment was associated with a 2.18% to 4.32% increase in divorce rates. The study’s model from the individual survey results predicts that people that do not use social media are 11% happier in their marriages than people that are regularly use social media.
Social media provides easy access for a jealous or suspicious spouse to seek out information about the interactions of a significant other. Whether suspicions are founded or unfounded, people often feel uneasy about their relationship after discovering something on their partner’s Facebook account. This often leads to increased monitoring, jealousy, and conflict in a relationship. In fact, researchers have found that the more a person examines their partner’s Facebook activity, the more that person reports jealousy and mistrust.
Unfortunately, suspicions about a partner’s social media interactions are often warranted. One in ten adults admits to hiding messages and posts from their significant other. Eight percent of adults in relationships admit to having secret accounts. And one in three divorces now start as online affairs.
Agencies
