Do you or your partner make it a habit to Tweet about what you’re doing? Do either of you use your free time to scroll through updates from friends, news sources, and celebrities on Twitter? If so, you may want to talk to your partner about how social media usage is affecting your relationship.
The Pew Research Institute recently conducted a survey of Twitter users who, as a group, used Twitter for an average of 52 minutes a day, five days a week, and found that high usage of the popular social networking site is linked to increased relationship tensions. There are obviously a number of reasons why this may be happening, and it’s clearly not going to be the same for every couple. Some people may feel that their partner’s time on Twitter is taking away time that they could be spending together as a couple, or that their partner gets on Twitter at the most annoying times (such as right before bed). Other people might feel jealous or begin to suspect their partner has lied to them based on their public Twitter updates.
Of course, it’s important to note that not everyone who uses Twitter is going to experience relationship problems as a result, and in many cases, high Twitter usage may be a symptom of a problem rather than a cause. For example, someone who has trouble communicating with their partner might check Twitter over dinner, and someone who distrusts their partner might follow their partner’s Twitter updates to check up on him or her.
Strengthen Your Relationship by Limiting Social Media Time
If you begin to feel that Twitter or another social media site is eating up too much of your partner’s time, or if you believe there’s a deeper problem at the root of your or your partner’s high level of social media usage, sit down and have an honest discussion with your partner about how you feel. Work with your partner to come up with a solution—you may discover that the best thing to do is to just deactivate your Twitter accounts.
If you or your partner aren’t comfortable quitting social media completely, set some boundaries that you can both be comfortable with. For example, maybe you can both put your phones away when you’re eating dinner, getting ready for bed, or on a date together. You might also consider setting time boundaries to limit the amount of time you both spend on social media.
If you feel that too much social media use is a symptom of a larger problem, or if you think that an unwillingness to compromise on social media is an exit to the relationship, consider making an appointment and coming in for a session with Houston marriage therapy. Work with your partner and a trained counselor to build your communication skills and get to the root of the problem so that you can begin to resolve it.
