August 6th, 2009

‘The more time college students spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to feel jealous toward their romantic partners, leading to more time on Facebook searching for additional information that will further fuel their jealousy, in an escalating cycle that may become addictive, according to a study reported in CyberPsychology & Behavior.

Amy Muise, MSc, Emily Christofides, MSc, and Serge Desmarais, PhD, from the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada), surveyed young adults involved in romantic relationships and found that those who spent time on social networking sites such as [1] Facebook may be exposed to information about their partners that makes them jealous, leading them to spend more time involved in online surveillance and to uncover even more jealousy-provoking information.’

For me, the take home message of this study is to be aware of fueling the downward spiral of jealous thoughts and feelings with activities such as hunting for material that leads to more suspicion. You find what that for which you look.  If you look for material that corroborates jealousy, you will find it. If you look for information that supports a loving, trusting relationship, you will find that as well.  Allow for common sense and intuition, while staying aware to the fact that your thoughts and feelings can mislead you down unproductive paths.

Full article here

[2] http://www.physorg.com/news168773965.html

All the best,

John Schinnerer, Ph.D.