New Study Links Social Media to Infidelity and Divorce

 Posted on April 23, 2014 in Divorce

Twitter and other social media services have completely changed the way people interact in their relationships. However, this does not always mean good things when it comes to romantic partnerships. Unfortunately, use of these services may also be behind a number of couples filing for divorce.

A recent study from Russell Clayton, a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri has found that people who use Twitter actively are more likely to experience conflict with their romantic partners. The study also determined that Twitter-related conflict was more likely to lead to negative outcomes in the relationship, including infidelity and divorce. Over the course of the study, Clayton surveyed a total of 581 Twitter users about their activity on the social media site, including how often they accessed the site, posted tweets, sent direct messages, replied to followers, and scrolled through their newsfeed. He also questioned study participants about how often conflict arose in their relationship due to their Twitter usage. He found that the more active a respondent was on the social media website, the more likely they were to experience Twitter-related conflict with their partner. Unlike the results of Clayton's previous study, which examined the effect of Facebook-related conflict on relationships and found only newer relationships were affected, this study found that increased conflict and negative relationship outcomes affected new relationships regardless of how long the couple had been involved with each other. The study has been published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Social media is an excellent tool for communication and building friendships. Unfortunately, it can also have a negative effect as well. If you are considering filing for divorce as the result of online infidelity, it is important that you have an experienced attorney on your side. Contact a qualified Illinois divorce attorney today for a consultation on your case.