Stay off social media or your love life could suffer

IT’S an image many modern couples can relate to – rolling over to give their partner a kiss only to find them scrolling through social media.

But spending too much time online could have an even more negative impact on your relationship – as research has found it could ruin your sex life.

Women who spent hours every day on sites like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok had a lower libido and fewer orgasms than those who rarely looked at them. Meanwhile men found it harder to get aroused and had lower sexual satisfaction, Portuguese researchers found.

Scientists blame so- called ‘phubbing’ – when someone snubs a loved one to spend time on their phone – which can lead to low mood and loss of intimacy with partners.

Nearly 54million people in the UK use smartphones and a report last year from King’s College London revealed that more than a third of young adults showed symptoms of smartphone addiction.

Researchers at the Institute of Applied Psychology in Lisbon looked at nearly 2,000 people as part of the research. The participants, who were all in their mid-20s and in long-term relationships, were quizzed on how much time they spent on social media sites and the quality of their love lives. In a report on the findings, published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers said: ‘Excessive use of social media... competes with attention to partners and this leads to lack of relationship closeness, which in turn causes diminished sexual function.’

They added that ‘addictive-like use’ of social media can increase loneliness and may ‘disturb sexual function’.

Meet the woman who says she can orgasm

using only her mind – Pages 34 & 35