Is Social Media Harmful to Relationships? The Debate

What might determine Facebook-related relationship conflict?

Why is it that some couples quite happily and openly share and view each other’s social media statuses, and some people find this very difficult?  Do we use social media to get to know each other better, or does it just fuel suspicion?
  This article goes some way to explaining this.
Firstly, it needs to be acknowledged that there is now much research evidence to suggest that excessive use of the Internet by one partner in a relationship can negatively affect relationship quality and may even harm a romantic relationship.  For example, it has been reported by Kerkhof, Finkenauer and Muusses (2011) that in relationships where there was excessive Internet by one partner, there was also more partner conflict.  The reason for this might simply be due to one partner feeling excluded by the excessive Internet use of the other.  Alternatively, it could be that excessive Internet use may be perceived as a gesture of concealment and an inability to share. 
This begs the question as to whether use of Facebook can result in negative relationship outcomes, which is an issue investigated in a recent study by Clayton, Nagurney, & Smith, (2013).  The researchers hypothesised that excessive use of Facebook by an individual, may be detrimental to a relationship resulting in what has been termed Facebook related conflict.
The study measured Facebook Usage (how often an individual used Facebook and how often they viewed their friends’ profiles), Facebook Related Conflict (whether Facebook use makes relationship complications more likely between intimate partners, examined by questions such as ‘how often do you have an argument with your partner as a result of Facebook use or viewing the profiles of your friends?’) and Negative Relationship Outcomes (whether Facebook use can have an effect on the propensity for infidelity or relationship dissolution, assessed with questions such as ‘Have you cheated on your partner with someone though whom you have connected with Facebook?’).  The participants in the study were 205 Facebook users, 144 of whom reported being currently in a romantic relationship 
Consistent with previous research, it was found that there was a correlation between Facebook usage and Facebook related conflict.  Furthermore, it was found that there was a relationship between Facebook related conflict and negative relationship outcomes. 

Is relationship length a factor?
Clayton, et al (2013) then went on to look at the length of time the people in their study had been in a relationship. Those who reported being in a relationship for 36 months or less were placed in the shorter relationship length group, and those who had been in a relationship for longer than 36 months were placed in the longer relationship length group.  For the shorter length group (those who had been in a relationship less than 36 months), Facebook usage predicted Facebook related conflict, which in turn predicted negative relationship outcomes.  However, for the longer length relationship group, there was no correlation between any of the measures used.   
The suggestion is therefore that Facebook is only an issue to those in newer relationships, and the same findings did not hold for those in relationships of longer than 3 years.  So only people who have been in relationships for 3 years or less experience negative relationship outcomes as a result of Facebook related conflict. 
Indeed, an earlier study by Elphinston & Noller (2011) which examined Facebook use by people in relationships, found that Facebook surveillance behaviour by either partner was related to relationship dissatisfaction.  Furthermore, Tokunaga (2011) noted that online surveillance strategies are more likely to be used by younger individuals, who may have been in shorter relationships.  While it could be argued that Facebook surveillance may be used to get to know a new partner better, it can equally be possible that Facebook surveillance might provoke feelings of romantic jealousy, especially where the information posted is ambiguous.
Overall then, the explanation seems to be that because relationships of 3 years and under may be undeveloped to some extent, the partners experience a greater amount of  suspicion as a result of the other’s Facebook use.  There are of course other factors to consider such as personality and self-esteem, which probably also play a part in Facebook related conflict.