The young man and woman were fighting a lot so much that the pattern of anger was troubling. As he counseled them, said Boys Town clinical psychologist Pat Friman, he uncovered the root of their rancor: unanswered texts.
The man and woman sent messages more often than they talked, and each thought the other had failed at times to respond to texts in a timely way. Resentment built up.
Nonstop communication might seem like some love guru’s dream, but in fact it’s unhealthy for any relationship, Friman said.
“It’s a mistake to have the gizmo on 24 hours a day whatever the gizmo is.”
Friman said he has dealt with people similarly afflicted by online video gaming, so caught up in an avatar world that they have no social circle beyond it.
The advice he gave the young couple? Turn off your phones for part of each day.
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