Are You Tweeting Your Marriage Away?

14 Jul Are You Tweeting Your Marriage Away?

Social media. Facebook. Pinterest. Twitter. It’s a brave new world for some; for others, all younger, it’s air or the sun in the morning. But this article that appeared in U.S. News. com was brought to our attention by sometimes contributor Dr. Paul Hokemeyer. Turns out tweeting for one may be good for developing your cyber community, but not for your marriage.

Forget about the Twitter wars that break out regularly between outspoken celebrities or loudmouth pundits — too much Twitter can be bad for your own relationship, a new study suggests.

High amounts of Twitter use can lead to friction within a couple, even if the couple is in a long-term relationship, according to findings from an online survey of 581 Twitter users.

In turn, that friction can lead to cheating and breakups, the researchers concluded, although their study did not prove that.

“There’s been growing literature that these social networking sites may directly impair communications between partners, and that can lead to increasing jealousy,” said Dr. Scott Krakower, assistant unit chief of psychiatry at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. “You’re spending a lot of time on the Internet, and that’s taking away from time with your partner.”

To measure Twitter’s effect on relationships, researchers created a 20-question online survey and then tweeted it out to more than 3.4 million users. The study, published recently in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, ended up with 581 participants.

The survey asked questions about amount of Twitter use, and whether Twitter use had caused conflict in their relationship.

On average, participants said they used Twitter about 52 minutes a day, five days a week.

Researchers found that increased Twitter use was associated with high amounts of conflict over that use, which in turn led to cheating or the failure of the relationship. Conflict occurred regardless of how long the people had been in the relationship.

There are a couple reasons why this could be happening, Krakower said…

Continue reading here to find out what Dr. Paul has to add to the story.

Editor’s Note: Dr. Paul Hokemeyer is a nationally recognized expert on Eastern philosophies, relationships, and emotional healing. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, he holds a PhD in psychology, as well as a doctorate in the law. The part-time Telluride resident is based in the New York City office of the Caron Treatment Center. He is also a contributor to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, “The Dr. Oz Show,”  Good Morning America, The Today Show, CNN’s Prime News, Fox News, Oprah Radio and more.