According to a recent study that appeared in the journal New Media and Society, WhatsApp could be helping couples in the Gen X generation (those born between 1965 and 1980) by providing them with an alternative to in-person arguments.
Gen X was not raised with technology like millennials and Gen Z, which is why they have issues using technology and the internet.
The behaviour of Gen X couples who have acclimated to WhatsApp for their interpersonal communication and the advantages it has brought them was examined by researchers from Reichman University in Israel.
The study’s findings revealed that couples exhibited similar behaviour on WhatsApp and utilised the service as a private place to argue away from prying eyes.
WhatsApp can not only provide Gen X couples with a different “venue” to “conduct their relationship, but it can also help save it,” researchers claimed in a media release on Eureka Alert.
Additionally, the team discovered that conflict management tendencies in WhatsApp discussions matched those in genuine in-person contact as noted by clinical psychologist and mathematician John Gottman.
Avoidance is a behaviour. After a real-life argument, some couples shun one another. Similar to “Avoiders,” who turned off communication on WhatsApp while engaging in other activities or socialising, “Avoiders” did the same.
“At home, we don’t argue; instead, we sleep… And on WhatsApp, there is a chilly calm, according to a research interviewee.People can also act “emotionally,” in which case they express their emotions. According to the study, people expressed their thoughts and feelings by sending lengthy texts and voice messages on WhatsApp.