Twitter Users Experience Shorter Relationships On Average

It’s no joke that online activities have contributed to the demise of many relationships over the past decade. In fact, lawyers say that Facebook activities contribute to nearly 20% of divorce cases. And I get that: Facebook makes it easy to catch up with past loves, correspond privately with fans without giving away your personal email (if you’re famous) and generally surf around for trouble. Basically, if temptation were a buffet, then on Facebook, it’s all-you-can-eat.

But it doesn’t end with Facebook.

More recently, a survey released by OKCupid, finds that daily Twitter users have shorter romantic relationships than non-Twitter users (or those who do not Tweet as often). As an active Twitter user with a crap love life, the findings of this “study” made me curious.

According to OKCupid’s study, tallying responses from 833,987 OKCupid users, the average relationship for an 18-year-old who actively uses Twitter lasts about nine months. The average romantic relationship for 18-year-olds who do not Tweet lasts 9.5 months. Yes, that’s right – 2 whole weeks longer. So that didn’t phase me much. But as I continued to review the graph, I noticed that the problem appears to worsen with age. Ruh-Roh.

According to the graph, at 34, it seems that my relationships would end 5 weeks earlier on average than a non-Twitter user. There’s no reasoning behind the study – I mean, Twitter users are probably more vain than the average person (everyone listen to me!), and we probably spend more time working online than working on our relationships, but it’s all conjecture. Everyone has their baggage. However, 5 weeks is a long time.

And so I start to wonder…

If I’m in an unhappy or unhealthy relationship already and I end it 5 weeks earlier than the non-Tweeter, doesn’t that give me a 5 week head-start to lick my wounds and move forward? I suppose it doesn’t matter if my vanity, or time spent online led my relationship to its demise. This extra 5 weeks gives me more time to spend trying to find someone who can appreciate my quirks. Right?

And what’s so bad about that? I think I’ll keep Tweeting, thank you very much.

Read the full results here: http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/10-charts-about-sex/

And if you’re currently out of a relationship, Twitter user or not, visit us online at BrokenHeartedGirl.com to talk it out.