Social Media Can Be Harmful To Your Relationship, According To Ian Kerner

Relationship expert Ian Kerner has claimed that social media can cause more harm than good to relationships and  couples who delete each other on Facebook are more likely to stay together.

The New York-based therapist who has now deleted his Facebook account claims that unfriending your significant other on social media can put the spark back into a relationship. Even better, he says, people should delete their Facebook accounts entirely to free up more time to spend with their partners.

According to Kerner, technology and compatibility are the main subjects that keep cropping up in couple’s therapy. He says the use of mobile phones means couples are spending less time talking to each other face-to-face, causing miscommunication and arguments.

According to the Pew Research Center, 25 per cent of married or partnered adults who text have texted their partner when they were both home together. The same number have felt that their partner was distracted by their mobile phone and eight per cent have had arguments about how much time their partner spends online.

Kerner who told PRI that there were some challenges that arose in his own relationship because of social media also said: ‘I realised for a little while with my own wife that I didn’t really want her to be my friend on Facebook. I didn’t want all of that extra information. If anything I wanted less information, i wanted more mystery and more unpredictability. I didn’t want to know that she was posting about being tired or having her third coffee for the day. So I specifically unfriended her during my brief tenure on Facebook. It’s something that I do recommend to couples.’

He says that a ‘digital detox’ even if it’s for a short period of time can benefit all couples. He claims it adds mystery back into a relationship, and gives couples a chance to sit down and talk face-to-face.

These views go against the widely-held opinion that couples should be open with each other about their social media activity.

In a recent study, more than half of lovers (56 per cent) believe sharing a mobile PIN, email password or social media login details is the best way to commit to someone and more than a third of people admitted they have been given their partner’s accounts.

The study, commissioned by Samsung, surveyed 2,000 adults during the last weekend of January. All of the respondents were in relationships and the majority of the participants were female (51 per cent). Almost 40 per cent said they already know their partner’s email password and more than a quarter (26 per cent) admitted knowing their significant other’s Facebook login details.

Do you like the idea of unfriending your partner on Facebook?

Source: Daily Mail