Can texting be used to improve romantic relationships?—The effects of sending positive text messages on relationship satisfaction

My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners

“…Given the increased use of cell phones to communicate with others (Coyne et al, 2011;Hertlein, 2012;Luo & Tuney, 2015;Lenhart & Duggan, 2014); it is of critical importance that increased research attention be focused on the impact technology use has on relationship satisfaction. With the ever-increasing presence and use of cell phones, the boundaries that separate other interests and partner relationships have become increasingly "blurred" (Chesley, 2005;Leggett & Rossouw, 2014).…”

Social media addiction and sexual dysfunction among Iranian women: The mediating role of intimacy and social support

“…Given the widespread use of smartphones and installing different applications and connection to the Internet and social networks (Hertlein, 2012;Luo & Tuney, 2015), there is an increasing need for research examining the impact of the use of such technologies on sexual relationships and their constructs, such as intimacy, satisfaction, and sexual function. Since prospective studies can demonstrate a stronger relationship between variables and considering the importance of such a relationship between online social networks and the quality of marital relationship, this study assessed the impact of social media use on couples' sexual health including sexual function, sexuality, and intimacy of couples over time.…”

A frown emoji can be worth a thousand words: Perceptions of emoji use in text messages exchanged between romantic partners

“…CMC allows for open-ended communication (Rettie, 2009) and the inclusion of personalized writing elements to convey emotional content (Walther, Van Der Heide, Ramirez, Burgoon, & Peña, 2015) and to reduce message ambiguity (Dickey, Wasko, Chudoba, & Thatcher, 2006). For instance, Luo and Tuney (2015) have recently shown that sending positive text messages to the partner using a mobile phone (vs. not sending messages) increased relationship satisfaction over a two-week period. This positive effect occurred not only for general positive messages (e.g., "What a beautiful day"), but also for customized messages related to the partner or the relationship (e.g., "I miss you").…”

“…Greater usage of CMC between close others has been associated with less loneliness (Jin & Park, 2013;Park, Lee, & Chung, 2016). Also, sending customized messages to the partner can increase affection in the relationship, and using positive emotional words (e.g., "happy") in CMC predicts relationship satisfaction later on (Luo & Tuney, 2015;Slatcher, Vazire, & Pennebaker, 2008). Because greater CMC use with close others is associated with greater message understanding (e.g., less ambiguity; Dickey et al, 2006), it is possible that CMC is also a useful method of communication to address relationship issues between romantic partners.…”