Constantly being connected through technology can cause some disconnects in committed relationships, say Brigham Young University researchers.
For women, using text messages to apologize, work out differences or make decisions is associated with lower relationship quality.
For men, too frequent texting is associated with lower relationship quality.
"Technology is more important to relationship formation than it was previously," Schade, who earned her Ph.D. from BYU in August, said.
"The way couples text is having an effect on the relationship as well," the researcher said.
The study participants weren't just casually dating - 38 percent said they were in a serious relationship, 46 percent were engaged and 16 percent were married.
Each participant completed an extensive relationship assessment that included questions about their use of technology in the relationship.
About 82 percent of them traded text messages with their partner multiple times a day. And it's not always "I less than 3 u!!!" or "Where do you want to go for lunch?"
Many of the couples used texting for stuff scholars call "relationship maintenance," or the kind of conversations that help couples get on the same page.
Ordinarily having these conversations is a good thing, but texting can get in the way and makes things worse.
"Reaction to disappointment and reality testing occurs more quickly face to face," Sandberg said.
"There is a narrowness with texting and you don't get to see the breadth of a person that you need to see," he added.
For men, more texting doesn't necessarily mean a better relationship. And they don't just get tired of receiving texts; their relationship satisfaction is also lower when they send a lot of texts themselves.
The study is published in the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy.
Source-ANI
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