Constantly texting your significant other might seem to bring the two of you closer together, but it actually might be tearing you apart. Evidence shows that too much texting could be the pitfall of many relationships, so before you hit send, you might want to think twice.
These days, it’s incredibly easy to pick up the phone and type a quick message to your SO asking about his plans or just wanting to chat. People often text more than they talk on the phone: It’s more convenient and seems harmless. Still, the reality is that too much of this type of communication might hurt your relationship.
The Study
A study reported on by Time Magazine researched texting habits of young adults in serious relationships. They found that in couples who texted a lot, men reported less satisfaction in their relationship while women reported higher satisfaction. Also, people who sent cute and sappy text messages got more satisfaction than the person who received the message.
This study’s findings are a lot to take in. While you might think that writing a multi-paragraph text to your significant other about how much you love and miss them is adorable and will make them gush with happiness, it actually might give you more happiness than it gives them — which is not what you were going for.
The researchers also speculated that men increase their texting habits with their significant other when they’re on the verge of a break-up, because it seems more distant to them. If your boyfriend is suddenly texting you more than he’s talking to you, consider having a talk. You definitely don’t want to receive the dreaded break-up text.
Texting Pros and Cons
Of course, texting does have its advantages. It’s much more convenient to send a quick text than to meet up in person or do a phone call. Plus, it’s easy to text in public or while doing other things. Texting also allows people to take a minute before answering, giving them time to think of a response or clear their heads if they’re in the middle of an argument.
The downsides of texting include feeling the need to be constantly tied to your phone and not being able to really understand what someone is saying, since you’re not in the same room with them seeing their body language and nonverbal cues.
In addition to hurting relationships, texting too much can also damage your body. Too much texting can cause chronic neck and back pain! When you look down at your phone, you increase the weight of your head to nearly 60 pounds, which puts a lot of stress on your neck and spine. Over time, this can cause serious damage to your body.
If texting is bad for our relationships and bad for our health, why are we still doing it? Well, society is kind of text obsessed right now and it doesn’t look like that’s going to stop anytime soon. In the meantime, be aware of these side effects to texting and consider putting the phone down every now and then.
