Psychologists at the University of Montreal have discovered that people who are more jealous of their romantic partner’s social media activities are more likely to be violent towards that partner. The results of the research have been published magazine Telematics and Informatics.
Social media activity can in some cases exacerbate conflicts and create new sources of conflict in relationships. They have also proven to be fertile ground for online spying on partners, jealousy and cyber infidelity. Young people (people aged 15 to 25 years, in some countries – up to 35 or even 40 years old) are most susceptible to these factors and are the age group that researchers focus on.
Social media can cause or exacerbate feelings of jealousy. A previous study reported that 34% of teens reported feeling jealous or insecure in their current relationships because of how their spouses interact with others on social media.
The scientists took two samples: the first consisted of 111 couples, and the second consisted of 286 people who were in relationships. They took two surveys, one year apart, answering questions about the quality of relationships and sex, spousal behavior, and feelings of jealousy related to a spouse’s social media activity.
Participants reported spending just over two and a half hours a day on social media. Just under 50% reported having used psychological violence, 11% physical violence and 13% sexual violence against their partners in the last year.
The authors also made a connection between jealousy and violence. The high level of jealousy found in the first survey predicted the level of violence and vice versa.
“The more jealous a person is over their partner’s social media activities, the more likely they are to be violent towards their partner. Conversely, the more violent a person is in their relationship, the more jealous they will feel about their partner’s social media activity, the authors write.