How do smartphones destroy your relationship?

The percentage of divorces in Russia fluctuates at the level of 50 percent, but this is not the whole story. According to a survey conducted by the National Center for the Study of Public Opinion in the United States, 60 percent of people who are in a relationship say they are not very happy with them. The most common reasons that are known to us for a long time are money problems, dissatisfaction in intimate life and joint children. But now there is another reason that every second couple decides to apply for a divorce - smartphones.

Fabbing

Not so long ago, scientists conducted a study examining how disastrous a smartphone could be for a relationship. They considered a new social phenomenon called fabbing. This abuse of gadgets during communication with other people. In the context of the relationship, scientists studied how often the romantic partner is distracted by his smartphone in the presence of the second half. It turns out that more and more people are distracted by smartphones. For example, a typical American checks his smartphone every six and a half minutes, or about 150 times a day. Thus, the fable was a real source of conflict. For example, in one study, 70 percent of participants said that the fobbing violated their ability to interact with romantic partners.

Many of us know what happens during the fobbing: you are close to your partner, but you realize that his attention is constantly being diverted. But you probably also were in his place, when you realized that you stopped listening to the conversation, scrolling Facebook tape.

Study

In their study, scientists decided to consider the consequences of such abuse. They examined 175 adults who are in a romantic relationship, from all parts of the United States, and asked them to fill out a questionnaire. Examples of statements that were included in it: "My partner leaves his smartphone where he can see it when we are together" and "My partner uses his smartphone when we are together."

The survey participants also used a scale that measured how often the smartphone was a source of conflict in their relationship. Another scale measured how much the participants in the survey are satisfied with their current relationship, their lives, and whether they feel depressed.

results

Scientists have found that the use of smartphones is a real problem in relationships, along with money, sex and children.

People who reported a high level of fobbing, also talked about the fact that in their pairs often there are conflicts due to the use of smartphones. Unsurprisingly, higher levels of smartphone usage are associated with a lower level of satisfaction with relationships.

Thus, it turned out that at first sight an innocent gadget undermines the quality of relations, if often used in the presence of a romantic partner. This can create a domino effect, as the study also showed that when we are unhappy in love, we are also less likely to be satisfied with life as a whole. In addition, such people are more likely to report a depressed mood.

Why can a fabbing in relation to a partner cause such damage to the relationship?

There are at least two possible explanations for this phenomenon. The bias hypothesis assumes that the time spent on the smartphone displace (or decrease) more meaningful interactions with the other half, weakening the relationship. The second theory is called conflict. Simply put, a smartphone is a source of conflict, which leads to quarrels. This, of course, can undermine your relationship with a partner.

So what conclusion can we draw?

Even if we try not to attach much importance to fabbing, it will always cause unpleasant emotions in the partner. After all, in a sense, our romantic partners prefer to spend time with their phones, not with us. This will lead to the feeling that your partner does not value you, as a result of which you can not feel security in a relationship.