TORONTO – Are you cheating on your girlfriend? Will you be serving your husband with divorce papers? Is the Twittersphere aware of your relationship status before your partner has a clue?
There may not be an app for all that, but there’s a possible explanation.
A new study from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism has linked Twitter use to the likelihood of infidelity and divorce.
Turns out the more you tweet, the more likely you are to cheat or call it quits with your partner.
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More than 500 Twitter users were asked about their tweeting habits as part of the study. Researchers found that the more often a user reported using the social media website, the more likely he or she was to engage in Twitter-related conflict with their partners.
The study stems from an earlier one in which researchers examined Facebook-related conflict to see if the social media website could lead to a breakup. It was found that couples in relationships newer than 36 months or less were more susceptible to negative relationship outcomes.
In Twitter’s case, the study found, relationship duration didn’t matter.
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The study notes researchers are not exactly sure why Twitter usage may result in relationship demise, but earlier research on social networking services suggests Facebook-induced jealousy, partner surveillance, compulsive internet use and sharing of intimate information online may be some of the ways Twitter and similar services are ruining romances.
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