We already know that Facebook can be an incredible tool for building and strengthening friendships and relationships. We also know that it can be a relationship buster. And now, a recent study makes the claim that "increased Facebook use significantly predicts Facebook-related jealousy" in romantic relationships.

The study, published in the CyberPsychology & Behavior Journal, analyzed the effect of Facebook use on the romantic relationships of college students. The report concludes that there is a "significant association between time spent on Facebook and jealousy-related feelings and behaviors experienced on Facebook."

Is Facebook destroying our relationships?

An Overview of the Study

The research, conducted as part of a larger study on Facebook use by college students, identified items that could contribute to romantic jealousy. 308 respondents (skewed female, 231 to be exact) were then surveyed on if any of those factors were present. These include gems like "How likely are you to monitor your partner's activities on Facebook? and "How likely are you to become jealous after your partner has added an unknown member of the opposite sex?"

The result? Specific factors make Facebook a breeding ground for relationship jealousy. The researchers identified four themes that contributed to jealousy on Facebook. They are as follows:

- Accessibility of information: Increased info about the interactions of significant others lead to increased monitoring and jealousy for 19.1% of participants - Relationship jealousy: 16.2% of respondents were explicitly linked to Facebook use contributing to jealousy - Facebook as an addiction: 10.3% of participants had major difficulty limiting the amount of time he or she looked at his or her partner's Facebook profile. - Lack of context: 7.4% of respondents referenced how Facebook can be ambiguous and that, without context, jealousy can be spurred over misunderstandings.

If you're interested to learn more about the study, we've included the entire CyberPsychology & Behavior article below:









What's to Blame: The Technology, or the Personality?

The sample size and the gender skew don't make this a concrete and irrefutable study, despite regression analysis being used to address the gender skew. Still, the conclusions do make sense. With more information at a partner's fingertips, he or she has more events (i.e. the friending of the opposite sex) that can spur jealous feelings.

In the end, it's more about the personality type than the technology. Certain personalities have a tougher time trusting significant others. The technology is simply an enabler of his or her personality issues. Obsessive types will still check someone's phone or accuse others of cheating.

The entire issue's thorny. That's why we agree with the study's final conclusion:

This study provides evidence of a relationship between Facebook use and the experience of jealousy in that context, though further research is needed to better understand this feedback loop because the nature of our data could not fully explain this process. Future research must directly examine the effects of various triggers on the experience of jealousy and on the time individuals spend on Facebook.

We'd be interested in studying this issue further. In the meantime, what do you think? Is Facebook the cause of increased jealousy, or is it more about the personality? Let us know in the comments.