Technology Use in Young Adult Marital Relationships: A Case Study Approach

Contemporary young adults (18–29 years old) have experienced technology as a normative feature throughout their lives. The current case study was designed to understand how technology is used in young adult marital relationships and how these couples perceive that technology influences their relationships. Ten heterosexual young adult married couples (n = 20 individuals) completed daily diary surveys about their own and their partners technology use over seven consecutive days and each participant completed an individual in-depth interview. Results indicated no significant differences between spouses in time spent with technology (i.e., cell phones, computer/tablet, entertainment media, social networking sites). Couples indicated that technology facilitated both connection and distraction in their relationships. Further, all couples reported that they had rules for regulating technology use within their marriages.