Running head: RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA INTERACTION 1

Romantic Relationship Satisfaction in Correlation to Social Media Interaction Rationale

Brooke Sanders, Brittney Walters, Will Burch, Kyrsten Mitkowski

Christopher Newport University

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 2

Abstract

Social media has become increasingly popular in today’s society. This study examines the

relationship between social media monitoring, social media addiction, and relational health,

specifically in romantic relationships. The purpose of this study was to find out if the amount of

social media monitoring affects the satisfaction of the individual in their relationship, and

whether or not the individuals monitoring their partner’s accounts had a presence of social media

addiction. The findings would be beneficial to display the role social media addiction has on

society, and how the amount of time one spends on social media can affect their romantic

relationships. The results represented a negative relationship between relationship satisfaction

and social media monitoring, and a positive relationship between social media addiction and

social media monitoring. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords: social media, relationships, romantic relationships, social media addiction,

relational health, social media monitoring

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 3

As the population has made a shift to a digital world, social media has become more

prevalent in today’s society. Social media is a “digital technology emphasizing user-generated

content or interaction” (Carr & Hayes, 2015, p. 47). These social media websites include

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and several more. As society has become

increasingly active and dependent on these social networking sites, it has led to changes in the

way humans interact with one another. Posting, liking, retweeting, and sharing have all been used

as a way to verbally communicate with another person, however the intentionality of these

behaviors can vary according to different people (Boyd, Golder, & Lotan, 2010). This can lead to

the question of whether or not these social media websites are producing more benefit or harm in

relationships, and in this study specifically, romantic relationships.

Cyberoptimists believe that social media websites are helping romantic relationships to

grow and get stronger (Pollet, Roberts, & Dunbar, 2011). Brody, LeFebvre, and Blackburn

(2015) have said that “the accessibility of information on social networking sites influences

relationship development over time, aids in relationship maintenance, displays relationship

dissolution, and reveals the multimodality of information between relationships” (p. 1). With the

help of social media, time and location have become escapable. Unlike before, individuals are

able to reach others of different cities, states, and countries with the push of a button. They are

able to build upon relationships with others who they may not otherwise be able to interact with

daily. With the help of social media, humans are able to use relational maintenance strategies to

upkeep the relationships with those in their social network. For this reason, statistics have shown

an increase in online dating both for younger and older generations (Brown, 2011).
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 4

Cyberpessimists state that social media harms these romantic relationships (Pollet et al.,

2011). According to Brown (2011), the mediated world has created a space, in which one can

distance them from an “unpleasant interpersonal task,” and face conflict from behind a screen (p.

30). There has been an increase in relational termination on social media sites, as the relational

member tries to distance him or herself from dealing with the situation face-to-face, as it may not

be a pleasant experience (Brown, 2011). Studies have also shown that social media can lead to an

increase of jealousy in the relationship (Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). One individual interacting

with a member of the opposite sex online can be seen as “flirting” and the other relational partner

has an increase in jealousy. In a study conducted by Utz and Beukeboom (2011), self-esteem was

shown to play a role in this jealousy. Relational partners with high self-esteem showed lower

signs of jealousy, while relational partners with low self-esteem showed higher signs of jealousy

(Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). This jealousy can lead to interpersonal electronic surveillance.

Interpersonal electronic surveillance is “surreptitious strategies individuals use over

communication technologies to gain awareness of another user’s offline and/or online behaviors”

(Tokunaga, 2011, p. 706). Social networking sites provide a variety of information to its viewers

including “status updates (i.e., information regularly updated on one’s current condition), news

feeds (i.e., automatically generated updates about one’s recent online activity), and messages

exchanged” leading a partner to feel closer to the other, by knowing their daily happenings

(Tokunaga, 2011, p. 706).

Due to the increasing popularity of social media, investigation of the link between social

media usage within a romantic relationship and relationship satisfaction, along with whether or

not it could lead to obsessiveness and addiction rational is necessary to better understand the

world in which we live today. Studies have previously been conducted on addiction and the use
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 5

of these online tools. Song, Larose, Eastin, and Lin (2004), claimed that social media addiction

has been found to cause pathological or obsessive tendencies. This addiction can lead to “neglect

of personal life, mental preoccupation, escapism, mood modifying experience, tolerance, and

concealing the addictive behavior (Kuss & Griffiths, 2011, p. 3529).

This study differs from others, because in this study, we would like to see how or if this

addiction corresponds to relational satisfaction. In the social media reliant world we live in today,

social media and its easy accessibility and interface is becoming much more commonplace for

people of all ages to use. These findings can help to show our society, the role that social media

addiction plays in our world, and how romantic relationships can affect the outcome of the

amount of time one spends on social media or thinking about social media. With 70% of

American adults using at least one social platform, it is important to keep the majority of our

population’s mental health and well-being high (Social Media Fact Sheet, 2017).

According to Fox and Warber (2014), “Social networking sites serve as both a source of

information and a source of tension between romantic partners” (p. 1). In a recent study, Fox and

Warber (2014) confirmed a relationship between attachment style, uncertainty, and partner

surveillance on social media. According to the results of this study, attachment style predicted

relational uncertainty as well as interpersonal electronic surveillance (Fox & Warber, 2014).

Participants with preoccupied or fearful attachment styles were found to have the highest levels

of uncertainty and surveillance, most likely due to their susceptibility to extreme relationship

anxiety (Fox & Warber, 2014). Preoccupied individuals tend to feel unworthy of their partner,

which causes frequent concern of relationship termination and rejection (Fox & Warber, 2014).

Due to high levels of relational anxiety and low levels of avoidance in preoccupied individuals, it

is very common for these individuals to cling to their partners as an effort to strengthen or
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manage the relationship (Fox & Warber, 2014). According to Uncertainty Reduction Theory,

uncertainty leads to anxiety and in order to reduce feelings of angst, one must engage in

information seeking behaviors (Parks & Adelman, 1983). Social media allows users to monitor

and reduce uncertainty in a secret and passive way, which can be convenient and helpful in

certain contexts.

However, monitoring a romantic partners online activity and content can easily be

misinterpreted, which can often create unnecessary jealousy or conflict (Utz & Beukeboom,

2011). The study conducted by Fox and Warber (2014), confirmed that attachment style is an

effective way to understand and predict partner surveillance on social media sites, but relational

uncertainty and the decision to monitor romantic partners is not strictly a result of attachment

style. According to Fox and Warber (2014), “This uncertainty stems from perceptions of

ambiguity within the relationship, such as not knowing if the partner is serious about the

relationship or if the relationship has a future.”

In addition to behavior, attachment styles can lead to a better understanding of the

cognitive stress an individual experiences when faced with relational uncertainty (Fox & Warber,

2014). The causes of relational uncertainty in individuals, whether it is personality type or other

factors, such as widespread online infidelity, are not concrete and more research should be done

in this area. However, there is a great deal of existing research that has revealed the potential

negative effects of social media and romantic relationships on individuals, especially adolescents

and young adults (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008).

“The thrust of the research at present suggests that real-world relationships and

adolescent issues influence adolescents' electronic communication at least as much as electronic

communication influences their real-world relationships and developmental outcomes.”

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 7

(Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008, p. 140). Also, Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2008),

explain that social media and technology as a whole have drastically changed traditional issues in

adolescent development. These issues of sexuality, intimacy, and identity development in

adolescents are now discovered or explored almost completely online (Subrahmanyam &

Greenfield, 2008). According to Seidman (2013), social media provides users with a platform to

carefully shape their public or online identities so that ideal selves can be presented. Utz and

Beukeboom (2011), explain the widespread desire for popularity and maintaining a socially

acceptable image. Social media continues to be further integrated into the lives of those who use

these sites. As people continue to use these sites for self-disclosure and maintaining ideal images

or identities, they become emotionally invested.

Another way to form and uphold an ideal identity is through romantic relationships.

According to Soller (2014), romantic behavior or actions between partners establish ideal

romantic identities. As adolescents and other social media users rely on their platforms to

preserve their perfected identities, romantic relationships may add more stress. “Relationship

demands, coupled with desires to gain partner approval, may suppress authenticity and promote

behavior that reflects what adolescents perceive relationship partners wish to observe” (Soller,

2014, p.). Poor presentation of one’s ideal self-image or negative feedback on social media, can

lower self-esteem and cause other unwanted thoughts or feelings (Soller, 2014). Relationship

inauthenticity can have damaging effects on psychological well-being, due to poor performances

of role-identity (Soller, 2014).

According to Soller (2014), partner monitoring can cause perceived relationship

inauthenticity if that partner’s online behavior does not uphold the desired reputation one would

like to uphold. For example, if the partner doing the monitoring discovers multiple pictures of
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 8

their significant other posing with the opposite sex and gets jealous, they may feel like their

romantic and online identity has been threatened (Soller, 2014). Most social media users already

show signs of addictive and obsessive behavior, due to the constant increase of time spent on

these sites and maintaining their ideal selves. Aviram and Amichai-Hamburger (2005), revealed

that partner surveillance or monitoring other individuals with social media accounts is one of the

most common ways to utilize these sites, which can increase these unpleasant feelings and other

negative effects.

The purpose of this research is to interpret the role social media plays in romantic

relationships. The information obtained from this study could better the care received in couples

counseling, and give society more knowledge on how to better manage social media accounts

with their partner in mind. According to Umberson and Montez (2010), healthy relationships

lead to an increase in overall well-being. Overall, a heightened sense of well-being decreases

“unhealthy behaviors” and “poor physical health” (p. 4).

The above information has led us to the following research questions:

RQ1: Is there a relationship between the amount of social media monitoring and

relational health?

RQ2: Is there a relationship between social media monitoring and the presence of social

media addiction?

Methods

Participants

Volunteers (N = 444) were recruited from multiple social media platforms, consisting of

Facebook pages from across the country, three LinkedIn profile pages, a Twitter timeline and

both private and public Snapchat stories. 85.3% of participants reported to be female, while
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 9

14.7% of participants reported to be male. The average age range of the sample was between 18

and 24 years of age (62.4%). Of all participants, the majority are in a relationship (68.2%, N =

303). There were 27 individuals engaged (6.1%), and 114 individuals who reported being

married (25.7%). Regarding current relationship length, the majority (48.6%, N = 216) reported

being in their current relationship between 1 to 5 years, while 22.7% (N = 101) percent recorded

less than a year and 9.9% (N = 44) reported 6 - 10 years. Regarding race, 89.4% (N = 397)

described themselves as White, 3.2% (N = 14) recorded African American, .9% (N = 4)

responded as American Indian, 1.6% (N = 7) responded as Asian, 1.1% (N = 5) said Pacific

Islander, and 3.8% (N = 17) responded as Other.

Procedure

This study began with the collection of data through an online survey. The length of the

survey, which was estimated to be no more than 5 minutes was outlined in the IRB and consent

form as well. The four researchers of this study distributed the survey to all volunteering

participants via three social media platforms; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Snapchat. The

college student Facebook pages this survey was posted to were multiple Christopher Newport

University, Virginia Tech University, University of Tennessee, Randolph Macon College,

University of San Diego, and James Madison University. The survey was also posted to personal

Facebook pages, LinkedIn profiles, Twitter profiles and Snapchat stories. Volunteers were

informed that they must be in a relationship in order to participate, their responses would remain

anonymous, that they were not required to participate, participation could be terminated at any

given time if the participant did not want to continue further, and that the survey would not put

them at any physical risk. If the volunteer answered the first question, stating they were not in a
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 10

relationship, the survey automatically screened them out and ended. Furthermore, researchers

were not present while participants completed the survey.

Measures

The distributed survey consisted of three instruments: (a) The Controlling Partner

Inventory, (b) The Relationship Assessment Scale, and (c) The Internet Addiction Test. The

Controlling Partner Inventory scale (Burke, Wallen, Vail-Smith, & Knox, 2011) is a 6-item

measure of cyberstalking and control, using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never to 5 = Always). A

sample item is: “I have opened a fake account so my partner adds me and I can control him/her.”

Lower scores indicate lower levels of control and cyberstalking. For this measure, there were no

modifications made. However, items D and G were reverse-scored for this survey. The internal

consistency of the CPI has been consistently high (a = .85) in prior studies (Burke, Wallen, Vail-

Smith, & Knox, 2011). In this study, the Cronbach's Alpha for the CPI was .71.

The Relationship Assessment Scale (Hendrick, 1988). is a 7-item measure of relationship

satisfaction, using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Low and 5 = High). The RAS measures relationship

satisfaction, relationship needs, and partner love. A sample items is: “In general, how satisfied

are you with your relationship” Scores for each of the items range from 1 to 5. The higher the

score, the more satisfied the respondent is with his/her relationship. In previous studies (Graham,

Diebels, & Barnow, 2011), the RAS has been consistently high (a = .86). In this study, the

Cronbach's Alpha for the RAS was .88.

The Internet Addiction Test (Young, 1998) is a 20-item measure of addictive use of

Internet using a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Does Not Apply and 5 = Always). The Internet

Addiction Test measures internet addiction ranging from mild, moderate, and severe addiction. A
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 11

sample item is: “How often do you find that you stay on social media longer than you intended”

Items within this instrument were modified to better assist our study. For every question

containing the word “online” or “Internet,” the wording was changed to “social media.” This

modification was implemented for the survey to help participants narrow their attention to social

media usage rather than any computer usage. This section was scored by totaling the responses

and placing them into a category. The higher the score, the more social media addiction is

observed. In prior studies (Windyanto and McMurran, 2004) has been consistently high as well

(a = .86). In this study, the Cronbach's Alpha for the SMA was .88.

Results

To examine the first research question, we looked at the relationship between social

media monitoring and romantic relationship satisfaction. Results, r(444) = -.226, p < .000,

indicated a statistically significant negative relationship. Therefore, as relationship satisfaction

increases, there is a decrease in social media monitoring.

We tested the second research question by evaluating whether there was a relationship

between social media monitoring and the presence of social media addiction. Results, r(444) = .

381, p < .000, indicated that there is a positive correlation among the two variables, social media

monitoring and social media addiction. Therefore, as social media addiction increases, there is an

increase in social media monitoring.

Discussion

The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which an individual’s perceived

relationship satisfaction influenced the amount of time spent monitoring their partner on social

media sites. Another main focus of this study was to discover if the amount of time spent
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 12

performing monitoring behaviors indicated a presence or likelihood of social media addiction.

Both hypotheses were found to be statistically significant. Results indicated a negative

relationship between satisfaction and monitoring, which implies that an increase in relationship

satisfaction will lead to a decrease in monitoring. Our findings were consistent to prior research,

which is stated in the rationale. This means that an increase in monitoring also leads to a

decrease in dissatisfaction. A positive relationship was found between social media addiction and

monitoring, which denotes monitoring behaviors will be used by partners who are addicted to

these sites. Prior research on internet addiction states that online users were becoming addicted

to the internet very similarly to the way some people were getting addicted to alcohol or drugs

(Young, 1996). There is a generous amount of scholarly research on internet addiction and social

media addiction. Griffiths, Kuss, and Demetrovics (2014), refer to evidence from anecdotal case

studies that confirm the risk of mental health problems some users face when they are addicted to

social networking sites. Prior research highlights the conflict caused by internet addiction, either

within the addicts interpersonal relationships or within themselves (Griffiths, 2000). Research

also has suggested that Facebook exposure can predict jealousy and suspicion in relationships,

and an increased exposure increases the severity of these feelings (Muise, Christofides, &

Desmarais, 2009). This implies that social media addiction will produce more extreme feelings

of jealousy and suspicion, therefore leading to monitoring behaviors to decrease feelings of

uncertainty. There is also plenty of research that shows that internet addiction can lead to

depression and other mental health issues (Ko, C., Yen, J., Yen, C., Chen, C., & Chen, C. S,

2012) and that social media addiction is related to anxiety (Parks & Adelmen, 1983), as well as

low self-esteem (Utz & Beukeboom, 2011). As stated in the rationale, there is a great deal of

research showing potential negative effects of social media and relationships. This provides
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 13

reasons for great concern in this area. Implications include that social media addiction increases

motivation for dissatisfied partners to engage in unhealthy controlling or stalking behaviors in

order to cope with their relationship dissatisfaction. This leads us to believe that findings from

prior research conducted on social media addiction and usage may be beneficial if tied into

relationship therapy sessions. The overall goal of therapy is to create an l improved interaction

between the couple and this can involve how they go about solving their problems, as well as

result in individual improvement (Crowe & Ridley, 2000). Using social media as a tool to

monitor or control romantic partners does not display healthy relationship interaction. These

actions then lead to further relationship problems. This also does not always have to be just one

partner engaging in this behavior, or just one partner who is addicted to using social media sites.

According to Carroll and Onken (2005), cognitive behavior therapy, as well as couples and

family therapy, are two of many types of behavioral treatment that have been successful for

treating multiple types of drug addiction. Cognitive behavior therapy has been used to treat both

internet addiction (Rooij, Zinn, Schoenmakers, & Mheen, 2010), and drug addiction, due to the

similarity between these two types of addiction. In a study on internet addiction involving five

types, couples therapy was one of the many effective treatment strategies used (Young, Pistner,

O’Mara, & Buchanan, 2000). The five types of internet addiction that were focused on in this

study included cybersexual addiction, cyber-relationship addiction, net compulsions, information

overload, and computer game addiction (Young, et al., 2000). If cognitive behavior therapy and

couples therapy have both been effective for drug addiction and multiple forms of extreme

internet addiction, then it is likely to work for social media addiction as well. Thus, further

research should explore if addressing social media addiction and negative effects of monitoring

in couples therapy is beneficial, or if it should continue to only be included in individual therapy.

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 14

This study also raises questions that could possibly be used to further prior research on

attachment style and monitoring behaviors. Fox and Warber (2014), confirmed that attachment

style is an effective way to predict partner surveillance on social media, and once again, the

findings of this study show that social media addiction and relationship dissatisfaction are also

strong predictors of monitoring behaviors. Future research should attempt to discover if there are

any other important factors that may lead to partner monitoring. Also, future studies should

explore a potential relationship between attachment styles and social media addiction. Prior

research has shown that individuals with fearful or preoccupied attachment styles are particularly

vulnerable to relationship anxiety and uncertainty, which pushes them to engage in surveillance

behaviors to reduce these feelings (Fox & Warber, 2014). The findings from our study show a

positive relationship between partner monitoring and social media addiction. Previous studies

present strong evidence that there are harmful effects of addiction to social media (Song, Larose,

Eastin, & Lin, 2004), negative emotions associated with partner monitoring on social media sites

(Soller, 2014), and that certain attachment styles can cause individuals to experience more

extreme feelings, such as stress and anxiety, in relationships (Fox & Warber, 2014). These

findings may suggest that preoccupied or fearful individuals who are in romantic relationships

and who are addicted to social media, or use it to cyber stalk their partners, are particularly

vulnerable to mental health problems. These individuals, and possibly many others, could be at

risk, and further research could provide important information necessary for the treatment and

well-being of these troubled individuals. As social media use continues to gain popularity and be

a source of problems in relationships, the need for more knowledge of its harmful effects is

becoming increasingly important. In addition to our study, further researchers may want to

examine the relationship between social media usage and relationship satisfaction.
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 15

The first limitation of this study was the lack of focus on certain social media platforms.

For this study, all instrumental questions measured “social media usage.” Future studies should

specifically measure usage and addiction of certain platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, and Snapchat. Focusing on distinct platforms will enable researchers to delve deeper

into the differential meanings of online communication. An example of measuring this

communication would be distinguishing a difference between retweet on Twitter, Likes on

Instagram, or Shares on Facebook.

Another limitation was the wide spectrum of participants ages. According to

Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2001), social media usage among adolescents and young adults

is becoming increasingly popular, impacting several aspects of their lives and development. In

comparison to older generations, these young individuals are more likely to face more

relationship struggles and problems due to social media usage and monitoring. Future studies

should focus more on generational differences in accordance with social media and the effects

they face. The research questions of this study found a strong correlation between relationship

satisfaction and social media monitoring, as well as social media addiction and monitoring.

However, more research questions could have been included in order to explore potential

relationships between attachment styles and social media addiction. Prior research and the

findings of this study may predict a relationship between these variables, and also raises

questions about the impact of attachment style on relationship satisfaction.

Considering that today’s generation, along with generations to come, are the ones most

heavily affected by social media and its prevalence in society, it is important to note the effects,

positive and negative, social media can have on a person or a relationship. While noticing that

social media’s dominance in society will only grow in the following generations, it becomes
RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 16

increasingly more important to know just how to avoid the negative effects, while also

harnessing all the good that social media has to offer. Furthermore , it is also important to assess

the actual physical and psychological effects that social media monitoring and addiction can have

on a person, that way steps can be taken to avoid the chance of addiction. This study offers

evidence of the extreme mental and physical effects social media can have on individuals, which

makes continued research on this issue necessary.

RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION AND SOCIAL MEDIA 17

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