Effect of Facebook Use Intensity Upon Marital Satisfaction Among Pakistani Married Facebook Users: A Model Testing

Abstract

The impact of Social Networking Sites (SNS), especially, Facebook in marital relationships is increasing in Pakistan. A model based on negative-effect hypothesis about SNS use was designed to test the effect of Facebook use intensity on marital satisfaction among married Facebook users. Sample comprised of 302 married Facebook users from capital city of Pakistan. Data were conveniently collected through using Urdu versions of Interpersonal Electronic Surveillance Scale (Tokunaga, 2011), Trust in Close Relationships Scale (Rempel, Holmes, & Zanna, 1985), Facebook Jealousy Scale (Muise, Christofides, & Desmarais, 2009), Comprehensive Marital Satisfaction Scale (Blum & Mehrabian, 1999), and six items for Facebook Use Intensity. Marital satisfaction as assumed was found to have significant positive relationship with trust in relationship and significant negative relationship with Facebook related jealousy and online surveillance. Findings revealed a process whereby Facebook related jealousy and online surveillance were the mediators for the trust and Facebook use intensity as predictors in predicting marital satisfaction. Men were found to be more satisfied and have more trust on their wives as compared to women. Women possessed more jealous feelings and indulged in more surveillance of their spouses on Facebook as compared to male counterparts. This conceptualization showed the causal relationship between intensity of Facebook usage and marital satisfaction that can help in studying the impact of growing technology upon marital relationships in Pakistani context.