Daily technology interruptions and emotional and relational well-being

an article by Brandon T.McDaniel (Illinois State University, USA) and Michelle Drouin (Purdue University, Fort Wayne, USA) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 99 (October 2019)

Highlights

• Both partners in couples reported on technoference across 14 days of daily surveys.
• More daily technoference was related to worse relationship quality.
• More daily technoference was related to more conflict over technology.
• More daily technoference was related to less positive face-to-face interactions.
• More daily technoference was related to more negative mood.

Abstract

The current abundance of technology in daily life creates opportunities for interruptions in couple interactions, termed technoference or phubbing.

The current study examined reports from both partners in 173 romantic relationships who completed daily surveys on technoference and relational well-being measures across 14 days.

By using daily diary data, we were able to examine within-person associations and more closely approximate everyday life. Utilizing multilevel modeling, we found that on days when participants rated more technoference than usual, they felt worse about their relationship, perceived more conflict over technology use, rated their face-to-face interactions as less positive, and experienced more negative mood.

These relationships existed even after controlling for general feelings of relationship dissatisfaction, depression, and attachment anxiety, and there were no significant differences between women and men in these associations. This suggests that regardless of an individual's or a couple's current level of well-being, if individuals perceive technology use as interfering in their interactions with their partner, these perceptions may affect their daily assessments of their relationship and mood.

---