Just had to RT that pic of the Ramen burger you tweeted this weekend, and that #GOT pun you made was so nice I fav'd it twice! (Which is why I had to un-fav it the first time sorry about that.) Not to cause problems IRL, but have you noticed that your Sig Other's been on a little fav-streak of her own recently? She fav'd Brad's brunch pic then fav'd his brunch receipt then fav'd an RT from his Mom. From his Mom. If she was just browsing the #Discover tab I wouldn't be worried, but dude, maybe it's time for a Life Unfollow.
A new study of 581 Twitter users suggests that the frequently repetitive process of ejaculating words, photographs, and hastily comprehended pieces of information "leads to greater amounts of Twitter-related conflict among romantic partners, which in turn leads to infidelity, breakup, and divorce."
The study [PDF], titled, "The Third Wheel: The Impact of Twitter Use on Relationship Infidelity and Divorce," was conducted by Russell Clayton, a doctoral student at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Clayton previously found that Facebook disrupted relationships, and wanted to see if Twitter had the same impact.
The study's participants (62% were white and 63% were male, though most Twitter users are disproportionately black) were all in relationships and were asked if they had "emotionally cheated on your significant other with someone you have connected or reconnected with on Twitter."
The participants were also asked if they had argued with their partners about their Twitter usage, or "physically cheated" with someone else they connected with on Twitter. But let Peter Abelard explain how that "innocent" clickthrough to that beachside profile pic brings dishonor to your soul:
The time when we consent to what is unlawful is in fact when we in no way draw back from its accomplishment and we are inwardly ready, to give chance, to do it. Anyone who is found in this disposition incurs the fullness of guilt; the addition of the performance of the deed adds nothing to increase the sin.
A lusty fav is an ignoble act. (Peter Abelard was also pretty much the James Franco of medieval France so the RT in this case isn't exactly a 100% endorsement.)
Clayton found that the more active the participant was on Twitter, the more Twitter-related conflict they had with their partner, and the more likely they were to break up with them or get a divorce. The length of the relationship—anything under 18 months, or 45,224,663,003 internet years, was considered a short-term partnership—had no bearing on the couples' problems.
Clayton suggested to Missouri's News Bureau that "users should cut back to moderate, healthy levels of Twitter use if they are experiencing Twitter or Facebook-related conflict." Everyone else using Twitter is probably fine though.
