4 Ways Social Media Can Ruin Your Marriage
Most people have at least one social media account nowadays. In fact, for the majority of adults who have had access to the internet most, if not all, of their lives, it can be tough to even imagine a time when relationships weren’t made or broken at the click of a button. Many times it’s easily assumed that relationships are easily ended by adding them to a block list. But quite often it’s far more nefarious than that, and it can seem to creep up out of nowhere. A recent study links social network usage to marital discord and divorce. Of course, your Michigan divorce attorney can tell you all about that without the help of scientific data. But what are the main reasons or ways social media can ruin your marriage?
- You Compare Your Relationship to Online “Friends”
Whether or not you actually know the people you connect with online, you can begin to take their posts at face value. This is especially true with pictures or loving comments to or from their significant others. But not everything that glitters is actually gold, and it doesn’t always take a fool to get confused. Instead of allowing other claimed relationship successes to encourage insecurity in your own, you should channel those instant thoughts into productive energy to improve your own relationship.
- You Prefer Online Activity to Real Life
Time with your partner should be just that, not time with your partner as you’re multitasking on the internet. But social media sites make it especially hard to break away from other peoples’ exciting lives to focus on yours. If you’re otherwise preoccupied when you’re cuddling with your spouse or after climbing into bed at the end of a long day apart, chances are your partner is going to start wondering what’s so exciting on your laptop or mobile device. Put the device away and focus on what really matters: the health of your marriage.
- You’re Sharing Too Much Information Online
Fights and arguments are normal in good relationships. In fact, never disagreeing is a strong red flag that you won’t have the strength and communication skills to last long term. Each partner is a completely different person regardless of how many similarities they share. Yet sharing those arguments or disagreements on social media is completely disrespectful to your partner. The same holds true for intimate matters. You may have found the most attentive lover you’ve ever had, but the rest of the world doesn’t need to know that. And chances are, your partner doesn’t want anyone to know either. Keep things private and enjoy things together to strengthen the bond.
- Reconnecting with Old Flames or Being Mysterious About New Connections
This should go without saying, but people still seem to be surprised how often it occurs. There should be no reason to reconnect online with an old flame if you’re happily married–*unless* that flame is a pivotal part in both of your lives. And if that is the case, talking to them in private should be banned from your mental process. A major survey conducted at the University of Texas at Austin way back in 2011 found 32% of active social media users considered leaving their spouses. Today, complaints of social media addiction and deceit are among the top reasons for the destruction of marriage. And in some specific cases, those doubts can be verified by your partner’s Michigan divorce attorney. Is it really worth the trouble?
