Too Much Texting Can Cause Disconnect Between Couples, Study Says

Texting has become the preferred means of communicating for a lot of people, including many couples, but can the convenience of talking without talking lead to trouble down the line?

A new study involving 276 young adults was conducted by researchers from Brigham Young University. They wanted to understand how texting might lead to serious miscommunications in a relationship.

In texts, often a person’s context and meaning can get lost through misinterpretation. Lead researchers Lori Schade and Jonathan Sandberg found couples that constantly connected via texting or social media were more susceptible to those type problems.

According to their findings, women are more likely to make decisions via text or even use it for more important contact like an apology.

Men were found to associate too much texting with a lower quality relationship.

“Couples that constantly text were

more susceptible to miscommunications.” 

The use of texting was also found to cause regular disconnects between the couples who frequently use it.

Positive messages expressing affection were seen to elicit a positive response for both partners, whether sending or receiving.

Each participant in the study was involved in a serious relationship at the time, including some married and engaged subjects.

Each partner was asked to complete questionnaires about their relationship and their means of communicating within it.

Of the group, 82 percent were found to trade messages back and forth multiple times per day. This practice, however, was found to regularly complicate more serious issues when they were discussed through texting.

“Reaction to disappointment and reality testing occurs more quickly face to face,” Sandberg said. “There is a narrowness with texting and you don’t get to see the breadth of a person that you need to see.”

From: byu.edu.