A study from the University of Kansas found that people who are frequent users of Facebook also encounter more relationship problems, according to website DatingAdvice.com.
Individuals surveyed in the study reported lower levels of intimacy and more relationship problems when their significant others were actively posting and sharing about their personal lives on Facebook.
Researchers created two mock Facebook walls for the study, one with high levels of disclosure including pictures and personal status updates, and the other with less frequent and more neutral status updates. Participants were asked to choose which of the walls most represented their partner's, and then measured their levels of intimacy and satisfaction.
Participants who chose the walls containing a lot of updates and pictures were also less satisfied with the relationship.
However, the opposite was true when it came to friendships - the more people shared on their walls, the closer they felt to that particular friend.
“We found that contrary to the research on offline self-disclosure, which shows that more offline disclosure leads to higher intimacy and relationship satisfaction between both romantic couples and friends, online self-disclosure was negatively associated with intimacy and satisfaction between couples,” said researcher Juwon Lee.
Do you agree with the study? Should people take a break from posting so much over Facebook?
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