It may be hard to fathom that an internet website could be potentially harmful to your relationship, however studies are beginning to show this could be the case. In a recent study out of Canada, college students who were involved in a relationship were questioned about their Facebook usage. It was discovered that instead of fostering a better relationship the site was fanning the flames of jealousy. So, the question remains, how could a social networking site possibly affect your relationship?
Time: Informal surveys have noted the time people spend on social networking sites can be as little as a couple of hours a day to die hard junkies who spend anywhere from 8-20 hours per day on the sites! One study suggested 6.6 hours per month, however it looks like the study was not broad enough.
When you spend several hours a day, even if you are at the low end of the spectrum at 2-3 hours that is time you are not spending with your loved one. In a time where most people are living in a two wage earner household that does not leave much time to connect or communicate with each other.
"Friends": Sites like Facebook and MySpace were started to allow old friends to reconnect and family members to stay in contact when they live miles apart. That is not the norm at this stage. People commonly have 100 plus "friends" who range from close family and friends to outright strangers!
A lot of the reason this came to be are the applications available on these social networking sites. Both Facebook and MySpace have many games that users can take part in and you get bonuses for having more "neighbors" or "friends" which drives people to add folks they have never heard of before.
This practice of adding people to play can instill feelings of suspicion and jealousy that otherwise would not be present. There are a few things that will kill a relationship fast, money problems, disagreements over children and jealousy.
Amateur Investigator: All of the above and the very design of the site leads significant others to begin acting like amateur investigators. They will check the site often reading every status update, searching for flirty behavior and proof of cyber "cheating". While Facebook does set up a pretty good framework for people to meet, even in person, the incidents of Facebook romances are few and far between. At least they are at this point, as more people join and get involved with the site this could change.
Intrusion on Privacy: There are a couple of stories floating around about the intrusion of privacy people have endured. One couple, both Facebook users, ended their relationship and one party quickly changed their status to single. This opened them up to a barrage of questions and the other party ended up getting 400 messages or phone calls about the break up.
Conclusion: Social networking sites like Facebook can be a wonderful place to keep in contact with friends and family from all over, but a person should be careful about the time spent there and the "friends" they add. Do not let your relationship be killed by social media.
| Kevin has been writing articles online for several years now. Not only does this author specialize in social media and relationships, you can also check out his latest website on airsoft shotguns. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Hutto |
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