Constant communication between lovers via text messages and social media leads to relationship breakdowns. This is the conclusion reached by US scientists after several years of research.
According to the Journal of Couple and Relationship Therapy, researchers observed the relationships of 276 couples aged 18 to 25. They found that couples who texted each other throughout the day, communicated on social media, and chatted online gradually lost interest in each other. Furthermore, 43% of couples reported feeling overwhelmed by the excessive communication and eventually broke up.
As the study's authors note, men who texted more often wanted to reassure themselves that their feelings were mutual. Meanwhile, women pestered their partners to reassure themselves of the relationship's stability.
Scientists previously learned to predict the fate of romantic relationships using Facebook. According to The New York Times, for the study, they randomly selected 1.3 million Facebook users over 20 who reported being in a relationship and had more than 50 friends.
Scientists have developed a special algorithm, called variance, based on the number of mutual friends. According to experts, the more mutual acquaintances a couple has, the higher the likelihood of a close relationship. The developed algorithm can predict which of a user's friends is their partner with up to 60% accuracy.
“A spouse or romantic partner is a bridge between different social worlds for a person,” noted John Kleinberg, a computer scientist at Cornell University in the US and one of the study's authors. According to the researchers, relationships will be stronger if a person expands their partner's social circle. Otherwise, the relationship is unlikely to have a serious future.
