I wrote a blog post in the distant past, in a galaxy far-far-away called Smartphones Are A Woman’s Box of Secrets. Yes, the concept of a smartphone being a box of secrets can also apply to men as well (Happy? There I said it.) The blog post was nothing more than a personal observation of my relationships and the relationships of those around me. It seemed so glaringly obvious to me that smartphones caused countless relationship problems. Whether it was someone in a relationship sending flirty text messages, seductive photos, dongle pics or partners snooping each other’s phones – it was a consistent problem in almost all relationships I observed.
Although my article was just a thought piece- it appears to be backed up by cold hard evidence now.
Smartphones Are More Rewarding Than Sex
A study conducted by Rundex Research Corporation indicates that 62.6% of women prefer using their smartphone to having sex with their male partner if they had to choose between the two. Men responded with 17.4% saying that they would choose their smartphone over sex with their female partner. Although we could say that maybe these couples have terrible sex – it seems more likely to draw the conclusion that for many women and some men, smartphones mean more to them than intimacy.
Smartphones And The Art of Cheating
Smartphones have made cheating possible in a way never encountered before. Someone can be cheating on you while lying in bed next to you. One hand combing through your hair affectionately and another hand sending nudes to a Tinder match. You’d never be the wiser. In fact, a study by the University of Indiana verified this dynamic by finding that roughly 50% of women had a backup plan they were actively talking to using smartphone apps such as Facebook or Tinder. Although that statistic alone should be shocking, the real mind-f#$k is that thanks to smartphones, you’d never really know about it.
Smartphone Snooping Causes Paranoia
It makes sense to snoop someone’s phone on occasion after the statistics I just mentioned, doesn’t it? According to a UBC study, 1 in 5 of us snoops through a loved one’s phone on a regular basis. The problem with snooping is that it creates paranoia and challenges that did not exist until the snooping occurred. I’m not talking about going through someone’s phone and finding an emotional affair and then calling them out for it. I’m talking about going through someone’s phone and LOOKING for problems that aren’t there. Many unnecessary relationship fights stem from gathering ‘evidence’ and assuming that it’s cheating or tom-foolery when it’s not.
Smartphones cause a lot of problems but may also be an excellent tool. Like many things I have been critical of, it becomes a question of, “Does technology make us happier?” Have these technological advances made relationships and community better or just a watered down mess?