Couples can get jealous due to social media

Reawakening the old romance can put marriages — even good ones — at risk and it may lead to either divorce from their current partners or it may involve an extra marital affair.” Dr Dolly Habbal, clinical psychologist, Universal Hospital

Dr Dolly Habbal, clinical psychologist and head of the department at Universal Hospital, said social media can create an environment for misunderstanding or jealousy.

Habbal said: “Modern technology is very useful but the Internet has become a sort of getaway where extramarital affairs thrive, as it has made it easier for couples to meet new people with a simple click. “Emotional attachments can occur on social media and ruin marriages especially if the marriage is already troubled. The husband or wife can turn to social media for sympathy or an outlet for unhappiness and eventually, they get connected to other people and this may result in extramarital affairs.”

Dr Habbal noted that social media creates jealousy especially when a spouse starts drawing comparisons with other happy couples who post online. “When your friends post on social media about their vacations or how they were spending their weekends, this can create a lot of jealousy and couples start to compare their relationship to others. The weakness in one’s own marriage starts to become very prominent,” said Dr Habbal.

She noted that it’s a good thing for couples to limit their activities or time spent on social media for the good of their marriage.

“Couples should also consider sharing a social media account to include each other for transparency and to avoid suspicion,” she said. Naser Al Riyami, a psychologist at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi, said: “But if a marr-ied person spends a lot of time chatting with other people on social media and seeing pictures of other couples, it could easily open doors for comparisons that can lead to dissatisfaction in marriage,” he said. The psychologist said technology-enabled communication like online chats may also facilitate infidelity or extramarital affairs, because it allows people to connect instantly — with strangers, former lovers or those with similar interests.