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Blame Facebook? New study says social media use linked to unhappy marriages – Metro US

Blame Facebook? New study says social media use linked to unhappy marriages

Could using social media too much lead to a breakup? Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons Could using social media too much lead to a breakup?
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Using social media can be hazardous to your marriage.

A new study out of Boston University reveals that people who use social media are 32 percent more likely to think about leaving their spouse than those who don’t regularly log in. According to NPR’s All Tech Considered blog, Facebook is one of the tools singled out in the study, which notes that it can be “a positive, significant predictor of divorce rate and spousal troubles.”

Of course, many people sometimes think about leaving their spouse. Even with that in mind, the numbers are startling. The researchers found that of non-social media users studied in Texas, about 16 percent of those surveyed had considered divorce at one point. Among the the social media users, that number doubled.

“The study looked at data to understand human behavior as it’s affected by communication technology, especially technologies that are mobile-based,” says James E. Katz, one of the study’s co-authors, in a statement. “We believe being aware of this situation will empower Facebook users to better understand the implications of their activities and then allow them to make much more informed decisions.”

Follow Lakshmi Gandhi on Twitter @LakshmiGandhi.