How Smart is Your Phone Really for Your Relationship?

In the past 15 years, mobile phones have transformed almost beyond recognition. Once upon a time, our phones were chunky, heavy devices with monochromatic screens and minimal functions. Now, our iPhones and Android handsets serve as indispensable lifestyle-companions. In fact, it’s estimated that over a quarter of Earth’s population has a smartphone (more than 2.16bn, as of late 2016). This is hardly surprising, considering just how much today’s devices offer. We can watch movies, play games more advanced than we may have ever imagined possible, read books, enjoy video-chats with people all over the world, and stay connected with our social accounts 24/7. However, smartphones’ ubiquitous nature must have some impact on the way we live, mustn’t they? Most importantly, have they changed the way we behave in relationships?

The Effect of Distraction

Without doubt, smartphones provide us with plenty of distractions. Perhaps you like to read comic-books on your handset during the commute to work. Perhaps you love to watch movies in bed while your partner sleeps beside you. Still, there may be times when you find yourself checking your Facebook updates or comments on your latest Instagram post while you should be listening to your loved one. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, close to three quarters of women questioned felt that smartphones were interfering with their committed relationships, reducing the amount of time they spent together. In another study, college students were asked about their smartphone-use and relationships. Those respondents who depended more on having their devices close by at all times were found to have less certainty about their partnerships – implying people were becoming jealous of their lover’s smartphone. It’s not all negative, of course. The advances made in smartphone technology – video chat, instant-messaging apps – allow us to communicate with our partners in more diverse ways. For couples spending lots of time apart, such as those in long-distance relationships, this ensures a greater level of intimacy than they would have enjoyed in years past.

A Dating Revolution

In regards to finding love, smartphones have also changed the playing field considerably. Dating apps are an increasingly common link between partners, allowing people across the world to find their perfect local lover, regardless of their personal tastes. While internet dating-sites were once looked down upon, and viewed as somewhat suspicious, they are now just another part of daily life. For example, 7 percent of American adults (between the age of 30 and 49) met their spouse or lover online, while 41 percent of the US’s internet user-base know someone who has made use of dating sites. Meanwhile, in the UK, one in five relationships now begin online, with just over half of the country’s dating-site users being women. Dating apps have transformed the way in which many of us find love, and how we find the people we really want to date. In the past, finding a potential partner may have involved something as simple as visiting a singles bar … but if you didn’t want to leave alone, you were forced to ‘settle’ for the person most appealing to your tastes. With online dating sites, you have the power to refine your searches, narrowing the selection down further and further, allowing you to find the perfect partner. What more could anyone searching for a new lover ask for?

A Solution to Unfulfilling Relationships

For people unhappy in their current relationships, or searching for a little extra passion to accompany the loving commitment you enjoy, dating sites are a doorway to your deepest desires. Victoria Milan is dedicated to helping people just like you add spice to your life and seek a little fun outside your marriage or long-term relationship. In partnerships with little or no intercourse, being able to have an affair may well be a saving grace. With the physical side of love taken care of elsewhere, you’re free to concentrate on the emotional, intimate aspects of your committed relationship. Smartphones make handling affairs discrete, simple, and safe. To learn more about Victoria Milan, take a look here.