smartphones can make you

You Know Phones Can Be Bad

Smartphones are wonderful devices.

They are small, lean, stylish, and capable of an amazing variety of things.

They are like the world at our fingertips, connecting us to news sources, entertainment providers, people, places, and all the information you can think of – yet they are small enough to be hauled around in the pockets of our shorts.

They are always at hand, they are up close and personal, and they can be made to fit our needs when it comes to the services and information they have in front of our eyes.




 

But what is their effect on our relationships with others?

Are their advanced communication features doing good or bad?

Let’s try to find out.

As an article published in 2014 by the UK-based news portal Daily Mail, smartphones are perceived by many as a “third wheel” in a relationship.

And it is a pretty aggressive one, too, constantly competing with the world around you for your attention.

You constantly get notifications about fresh news stories, new Finnish casino reviews, game updates, promotions, special offers, social media updates, and other stuff – and if this wasn’t enough, there is the constant flow of text and instant messages you get from your friends and family.

Under such conditions, you might find yourself ignoring those next to you and focusing too much on the tech in your pocket.

There is even a name for this phenomenon: “technoference”.

A study conducted in 2015 by Brandon T. McDaniel, Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, Illinois State University, and Sarah M. Coyne, has taken a look at the family lives of 143 married and cohabiting women and the effects of technology on their relationships.

The result was hardly surprising: the majority perceived that devices like computers, TV sets, and smartphones interrupted their interactions – conversations, meals, leisure time – with their partners.

These interruptions send a message about what their partners value more – technology over their significant others – that causes quite a bit of bitterness in any relationships.

Overall, the respondents with frequent “technoference” have reported conflicts over technology use, lover relationship satisfaction, more depressive symptoms, and lower life satisfaction in general.

So, yes, we can safely say that excessive smartphone use can indeed ruin a relationship.

crazy smartphones and social media

By diving into the world of technology, and letting it interfere with even the most intimate moments in your life, you grow more distant from your significant other.

You can avoid this by simply taking control of your smartphone use.

There are quite a few things you can do to counter your “smartphone addiction“, from leaving your phone on silent when getting home from work, setting a (short) time when you allow yourself to handle all the notifications and updates you may get, and overall focusing more on your partner than on your fear of missing out.

What’s Your Opinion?

  • What’s your thoughts on the dangers of smartphones?
  • Click a Share button – your friends can then enjoy this article too.

Tell us your thoughts, in the comments below.

Is Your Smartphone Ruining Your Relationship? 1

Sydney boy, borne and bred.
I’ve got a passion for the sea and sailing. I pass through GeekandJock quite regular but usually when I’m busy screwing up a relationship and need some guidance or inspiration.

Mitch – who has written posts on GeekandJock.


2 thoughts on “Is Your Smartphone Ruining Your Relationship?”
  1. Really Smartphone are becoming a wall between relationships. Everyone love to spent time with phone and searching virtual happiness instead of getting it in real with friends and family.

  2. I completely agree that electronic can impact our relationships! Smartphones for example give us the world in our hand and as you note in the post, the competition is unreal. The world of ‘real’ cannot compare with the flashing lights and notification noises. Our brains receive so much stimulation from electronics and I believe it is that stimulation that we are addicted to more so than the ‘need’ to answer texts or see what’s on sale on Amazon.

    In some ways I think it is rather eye-opening to realize how much stimulation our brains can take to the point of teaching it that it needs the stimulation. TV and cell phones, etc. I also marvel at how much more of this sort of stimulation can be tolerated by people younger than 45. This is not to say that people 45 or older can NOT be addicted to the stimulation but I believe that the actual absorption of the data is very different.

    Is the impact of the ‘addiction’ to the stimulation based in brain development? For example, those that developed in the 70s vs people who developed in the 90s? What does it mean to the ability to connect to others? Do people that grew up in the 70s and 80s have more connected relationships? Interesting thoughts…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

you're currently offline