Whether on Instagram or any other platform, many people enjoy flirting online and find harmless fun in it.
But a new study warns that these seemingly innocent interactions can damage your relationships.
Researchers from Reichman University have discovered how it can make your current partner less attractive in the real world.
Previous studies have focused on relationship characteristics or marital infidelity.
However, until now, the impact of online dating on relationships has not been studied extensively.
Professor Gorit Birnbaum, who led the research, said: “In the present study, I chose to focus on the behavior of lovers, assessing whether the lover is more active in showing interest in an individual who is already in a relationship, able to penetrate more defense mechanisms that endanger the quality and stability of the relationship.”
Researchers conducted two studies in which participants in a romantic relationship chatted online with an attractive person (a member of the research team).
Half of the participants chatted in a neutral way, while the other half flirted with the researchers via online chat.
In the first study, participants were asked to rate how interested they were in their current partner after chatting with a stranger. They also took part in a task that examined their subconscious perception of their partner.
The results of this preliminary study revealed that the participants who contacted the researchers saw their current partners in a more negative light, both consciously and unconsciously.
In the second study, participants were asked to write down the first sexual fantasy that came to mind after chatting with a stranger.
The fantasies were evaluated by independent judges who assessed the level of expressed desire for the current partner and the stranger.
The analysis revealed that participants were more likely to daydream when they had a polite conversation with a stranger than with their current partner.
The study comes after women learned that the best habits differ based on your gender, as men want men to be cheerful and generous.
On the other hand, according to researchers in Norway, men prefer to laugh at their jokes.
“The most influential thing depends on your gender and whether the goal of dating is a long-term or short-term relationship,” says Leif Edward Otisen Kiener, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. It belongs to a research team that includes scientists from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and the State University of New York at Oswego.
Source: Daily Mail
Source: Arabic RT
