How Technology Is Ruining Romantic Relationships | Teen Ink

How Technology Is Ruining Romantic Relationships

December 20, 2017
By Gokul BRONZE, Mason, Ohio
Gokul BRONZE, Mason, Ohio
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

“Gen Z is the laziest generation in the world right now.”
“Generation Z has been getting dumber.”
“The younger generation is actually living the best life possible.”


These claims go on and on. Whether it is positive, or negative, there is something that has been said about the younger generation in the world by many types of people like parents, scientists, politicians, celebrities etc. The Z Generation has experienced and seen a vast number of advancements that make people’s lives easier like smartphones and other technologies. They have been called as the generation with the best life possible so far, because of technological advancements. But even they have their share of trouble to deal with in the future.


One point that is persistently said about the younger generation is how the technology is fracturing romantic relationships. The phones and technologies in the 21st century sure does help people a lot. However it is also ruining the relationships between their romantic partners. A study from researchers at the University of Boston and Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile compared the -by-state divorce rates to per-capita facebook accounts and saw a “direct correlation between social media and decreased marital quality”(Chakravorty). Some worry that the technology would make the Z Generation even afraid of looking and talking to people because they are used to texting in their smartphones. Phones and technologies have been ruining romantic relationships and it could be a problem for the human race. A study published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture went to college students and talk to them about their relationship with their devices. The students who were overly dependent on their devices said that they were “less certain about their partnerships” and students who felt their partners were overly dependent on their devices said they were “less satisfied with their relationship” (Oaklander).


Dependency is a psychological behavior that has been on the negative side when it is linked with technology. The more people use technology, the more they depend on their technology. Nowadays, it would bother young adults a lot if they go without technology for a day. Another study shows that people who are overly dependent on their technology will more likely to have “difficulty making decisions without advice” from their technology like choosing what to eat for breakfast and other little decisions that are supposed to be made by themselves (Jantz). Technology is fracturing romantic relationships because it takes the user’s attention away from their partner. If they get used to the device, over the years, the person will soon lose attention to his or her partner and they wouldn’t be able to understand even the problems that their partner is facing. This would lead to all sorts of problems in the relationship and if it continues, the relationship could lead to a breakup or a divorce.

 
Distraction is also a mental effect because of long-term technology use. In the mind of a distracted person, the technology that they use can be a problem in the current moment, over long periods of time, or even when the technology is not with them. In a poll of about 500 young adults in 2015, nearly half of them reported being distracted by the technology that they use in “the presence of their romantic partner” (Goodtherapy). Technology also distracts and heavily bothers people when it is not in use. According to a study in 2014 heavy users of technology were “having higher anxiety levels” than people with moderate to little tech use in under ten minutes because they would always worry about their technology (Goodtherapy). This would take their attention from their romantic partners to their technology, which would create more fights and scuffles between the couple. Distraction because of your technology can be a major problem in disconnecting a couple’s relationship because a person can get easily frustrated and sometimes have higher levels of anxiety when they are distracted and worried about something that is close to them. It would be harder for someone who is distracted and thinking about something else to focus on the other stuff that the person still has to do. It could also take away time to spend with your partners and acknowledge them.


Although some may say that technology improves your relationship because of how easy it is to communicate with people around the world with new tools such as social media, texting, international telephone coverage and more and increase more personal bonding, on the long run, technology has big psychological effects that can change the way you interact with the public. It can also change your personality as a whole since interacting with others is a common way humans use to show their personality.  The ways that technology can interrupt the relationships between people is surprising and can cause an increase in divorce and relationship break ups all over the world. This could be a problem for the human race in the future because if excessive technology use is not controlled, more romantic relationships would end faster, and if more romantic relationships end faster, then people would be less interested in being in a romantic relationship with someone, and more problems will occur like an epidemic. This obstacle could become a huge problem and even contribute to the end of the human race.


The world we live in needs technology. Nowadays, we use technology for work, education, scientific research, and for leisure. Technology is part of our society and it would be really hard to detach from its grips. Instead we as the people in the society need to work with what we have. We need to decrease use of technology in order to spend more time with our romantic partners to know them really well and to strengthen the relationship even more with love and care.


The author's comments:

I wanted everyone to know the horrible effects of excessive use of technology.


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