Constant Communication Has Ruined Relationships

The Plague of Constant Communication

I recently read an essay titled “The Epidemic of Constant Communication” by Amanda Brown. Amanda breaks down how easy it is in our day and age to constantly communicate with one another and how that has created a measurement of love in relationships, where if you don’t text your partner every second of the day, you’re a bad partner.

I’ve thought about how different my relationships as a young adult have been compared to my dad. I’m not caught up on his dating history, but at my age, he had no idea what his girlfriends did throughout the day and that was okay. It was simple. And maybe even healthier.

Not being in constant communication creates a deeper anticipation to see your significant other, an excitement to see them not just because you haven’t seen them, but because you didn’t fall asleep on FaceTime for the last week.

This is a kind of excitement that I have never experienced.

Three years ago, I was dating a guy who was attached to me in that constant-communication way. Throughout the day, he texted me:
“What time did you get out of school?”
“What time did you get home?”
“What time did you wake up?”
“Where were you?”

And I lost it.

He wasn’t a bad guy, and I don’t think he meant to be annoying but I just wanted to live without thinking about having to text him. I wanted to text him when I wanted to text him.

And that didn’t mean that I didn’t love him or that I was a bad girlfriend. Keeping tabs on someone is not only time-consuming for both partners, but it creates a sense of entrapment.

Amanda states, “He saw silence as neglect, while I couldn’t grasp the relation between the two.” I felt that.

Are we, as a generation, not secure enough in ourselves that we can’t go a few hours without texting or calling our significant others? Technology did not create this need, but it definitely enables it.

Will this bleed into our future marriages? Will I have to constantly text my future husband in order to prove that I love him? Will I need to call him every chance I get to prove that I miss him?

Technology has been both a blessing and a curse. It created our need for constant communication which has ruined relationships and taken away our ability to simply miss our significant others

Maybe it’s something we need to re-learn. I don’t know. But if another guy asks me to fall asleep on FaceTime with him, I’m gonna throw my phone out the window.