- Whatsapp might be saving Gen X couples by giving them different place to fight.
- Unlike millennials and Gen Z, Gen X was not born into technology.
- Findings of study showed that couples showed similar behaviour on WhatsApp and used platform as place to fight where others.
A new study published in the journal New Media and Society has shown that WhatsApp might be saving couples of Gen X (people born between 1965and 1980) by giving them a different place to fight instead of face-to-face confrontation.
Unlike millennials and Gen Z, Gen X was not born into technology which is why they face problems while using tech devices and the internet.
Researchers from Reichman University in Israel studied the behaviour of Gen X couples who have adapted to WhatsApp for their interpersonal communication and how it has benefited them.
The findings of the study showed that couples showed similar behaviour on WhatsApp and used the platform as a place to fight where others cannot see them.
Researchers said in a media release on Eureka Alert that not only can WhatsApp offer a different “venue” to Gen X couples to “conduct their relationship, but it can also help save it”.
The team also found that WhatsApp conversations showed the same conflict management patterns that are seen in actual in-person communication observed by clinical psychologist and mathematician John Gottman.
One behaviour is avoidance. Some couples avoid each other after conflict in real life. Similarly, “Avoiders” cut off communication on WhatsApp as well and interacted with other people or did other activities on the app.
“At home we don’t fight, we go to sleep… and on WhatsApp it’s a cold peace,” one interviewee of the study said.
Another way people behave is “emotionally” where they let their feelings out. The study found that people did the same on WhatsApp, sending long texts and voice notes, expressing what they think and feel.
