Couples using Facebook enjoy stronger bonding

New York: Not just shopping together, couples who spend time together on Facebook tend to share a stronger bond and enjoy a longer-lasting relationship than those who avoid seeing each other online, an interesting study has revealed.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that couples who were chatting on Facebook echoed those feelings in real life and were likely to have better marital ties.

People tend to internalise what they say about themselves in public.

"We were interested applying this to relationships and to the idea that if you declare your commitment publicly, you might perceive yourself as more committed to that partner," Catalina Toma, study co-author, told DailyDot.com.

To reach this conclusion, the team asked questions to couples to find out details about their relationships and levels of commitment.

Researchers also examined the "friendship activity" of the couple on Facebook.

The team found that couples who continued to chat on the social networking site had a stronger relationship.

"These publicly posted cues likely induced participants to perceive themselves as part of a romantic unit, thus cementing the relationship," she was quoted as saying.

A recent study from global research firm Pew Research Centre discovered that more and more couples are joining Facebook.

While 75 percent of parents log on to the social networking site daily, mothers tend to use Facebook more than fathers, it said.

Nearly 37 percent of mothers check Facebook "frequently" whereas only 20 percent of fathers check new posts.