NSU Horizons Fall 2018

15 They will spend hours, express themselves, and share what’s going on in their lives, their intimate thoughts. The fact is, Facebook has become part of that couple’s relationship and it is oftentimes part of the discussion.” Marquez said if the pair is on the same page about the amount of time each spends on social media, what time should be spent with friends, and how much time should be spent privately, there usually isn’t a problem. The Today Show teamed up with SurveyMonkey and found that 65 percent of married adults knew their spouse’s password for social media, but 10 percent said social media made them feel unsure about their relationship. “The number of people who reconnect with old flames through Facebook or develop relationships through texting is very large in my experience,” says Friedman. Lee Rainie, director of Internet and Technology research at Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., says the issue of technology in relationships is a gray area for many couples and families today. “We’re in a period of transition where the rules of the road are not established, and we don’t have broad social norms of what’s appropriate. So, yes, technology is intruding in relationships in very interesting ways. It is all disruptive, and it does present a challenge.” Pew Research Center has also studied who is and who is not getting married in modern society. “We’ve seen marriage statistics change — a lot,” says Pew Center’s Gretchen Livingston, a senior researcher and expert on family demographics. In 2016, the median age for first marriage reached its highest point ever: 29.5 years for men and 27.4 years for women, 15 NSU HORIZONS continued on next page