Surprise, surprise. As much as texting can help you snag a significant other, it can also be the cause of a relationship’s demise.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, too much texting can cause disconnects between partners. Researchers at Brigham Young University surveyed 276 adults in committed relationships and found that 82 percent of them texted their partners multiple times a day, sometimes to detrimental effect.
The report found that for women, texting about serious subjects - such as to apologize or to resolve a relationship problem - correlates with lower levels of relationship quality. For men, more texting - both as the sender and the receiver - was found to be associated with lower relationship satisfaction.
“We’re wondering if this means men disconnect and replace in-person conversations with more texting,” said researcher Lori Schade. “Maybe as they exit the relationship, they text more frequently because that’s a safer form of communication. We don’t know why, that is just a conjecture.”
It’s not all bad, though. On a more positive note, the study found that couples who sent each other romantic texts had higher levels of relationship satisfaction. Do with that information what you will.
[via BetaBeat]
