Influence of Social Media on Marital Relationships among Couples in Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of social media on marital relationships among couples in Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe. Six objectives guided the study. The study adopted a survey research design. The population for the study consisted of 288 teaching staff out of which a sample of 119 married staff were purposively selected. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire which was validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was established using Cronbach Alpha with a coefficient of 0.82. Data were analysed using percentages, means, and standard deviations. The results showed that the majority of the respondents used social media platforms like Email (100%), Facebook (96.2%), WhatsApp (98.1%), and Instagram (87.6%) to keep in touch with friends and family (3.53), and finding products to purchase (3.50). The study also showed that married couples spend two hours and more on the platforms (3.31). The study highlighted some of the positive influences of social media such as improving family cohesion and bond (3.90) and also the negative influences which include being distracted from paying attention to what is happening in one’s spouse’s life (2.71). The findings of the study also showed that making video calls, especially in long-distance relationships (3.80) can be used to improve marital communication. In conclusion, the respondents spend a lot of their free time engaging in social media activities which influence their communication with their spouses. It is recommended that couples reduce the time spent on social media and invest more of it in their spouses.