University of Missouri Study says Too much Twitter kills romance in life

New York City, 12 April-2012,Benita Matilda: Are 140 characters coming between you and romance in your life? A latest study claims that Twitter users are more likely to experience Twitter-related conflicts that have a negative impact on their romantic relationships.

University of Missouri Study says Too much Twitter kills romance in life

Twitter Has Damaging effects on Romantic Relationships Leading to Divorce and Infidelity (Photo : Reuters)

A study contends that those addicted to Twitter are likely to have problems with their partners than those who are not. The more time you spend on Twitter, the more harm you are causing to your relationship, said the study by researchers of the University of Missouri.

Of the 500 Twitter users polled, researchers found the more active the tweeter, the more conflict a relationship had. The findings were not any different even for couples who have been together for long.

“Active Twitter users experienced Twitter-related conflict and negative relationship outcomes regardless of length of romantic relationship,” Russell Clayton, doctoral student at Missouri School of Journalism, was quoted as saying. However, the researchers said that Twitter may not bet the sole factor for the souring of a relationship. Other contributing factors like money, and trust, could also end a relationship, the study said.

The researcher found that the more active users were on Twitter, the more likely they were to suffer from Twitter-related conflict with their partners. This predicted the ugly outcome of the relationship such as cheating and divorce.
“I found it interesting that active Twitter users experienced Twitter-related conflict and negative relationship outcomes regardless of length of romantic relationship,” Clayton said in a statement. “Couples who reported being in relatively new relationships experienced the same amount of conflict as those in longer relationships.”

Clayton’s previous study was focused on Facebook-related conflict and the negative impact on relationships. He found that this conflict was high among couples who were in new relationships of just 36 months or less. The difference in Twitter-related conflicts, he noticed is that the negative outcomes were not based on the duration of the relationships.

This study suggests that the people experiencing twitter-related conflicts with their romantic partners should consider limiting their daily twitter use.

“Although a number of variables can contribute to relationship infidelity and separation, social networking site usage, such as Twitter and Facebook use, can be damaging to relationships,” Clayton said.

“Therefore, users should cut back to moderate, healthy levels of Twitter use if they are experiencing Twitter or Facebook — related conflict. Some couples share joint social networking site accounts to reduce relationship conflict, and there are some social networking site apps, such as the 2Life app, that facilitates interpersonal communication between partners.”

The 2012 statistics of AIITwitter, a site that monitors all social media, revealed that every minute nearly 100,000 tweets are sent out and three quarters of a million pieces of content are shared on Facebook.
The finding was documented in Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking. [ Input source: IANS/scienceworldreport]