Ian Hack
Social Networking Sites and Romantic Relationships:
Jealousy, Partner Monitoring, and Satisfaction
This study incorporated three methods of data collection to answer the following question: How are romantic relationships affected by the use of social networking websites such as Facebook and Instagram? Two qualitative and one quantitative measure were used to test the hypothesis that frequent use of social networking sites will increase and/or facilitate jealousy and partner monitoring behaviors. Data collection featured individual interviews, a focus group, and a survey administered via Qualtrics. The data answers the question with evidence that romantic relationships do experience negative implications relating to jealousy and monitoring when frequently using Facebook and Instagram. Relationships that are less prone to jealousy-inducing content are due to higher trust, relationship length, and individual personalities towards jealousy. For those affected, frequent usage both increases and facilitates jealousy and surveillance. Those who experience jealousy are triggered by behaviors such as a partner liking or showing attention to and receiving attention from members of the opposite sex. These triggers have emotional impacts including stress, anxiety, increased curiosity, second-guessing, and false senses of jealousy and comparison. Increases in jealousy led some partners to engage in surveillance methods such as screening their partner’s profile, photos, status updates, and friend lists. This process is facilitated by the open nature of Facebook and Instagram for the way in which one can peer into the social lives of their partner unnoticed. For all of the benefits that Facebook and Instagram provide, many users still experience the negative effects of jealousy and partner monitoring in their romantic relationships.