We’ve all seen it – the couple out to dinner who seems to have nothing notable to say to one another. He’s talking on his phone while she takes a picture of her entrée and sending it to all of her friends. In a day and age when we’re all plugged in, how do we unplug long enough to focus on our significant other and our marriage? Here are some helpful hints for guarding your marriage from the trap of social media.

Guarding Your Marriage from the Trap of Social Media

Give Yourself a Limit…and Stick to It

The thing about social media is that it’s just so easy to access. We have it on our phones, tablets and computers. An innocent check-in, tweet, etc., can quickly lead to a much longer session. If you and your spouse both have gotten in the habit of checking your phone multiple times each day, then that opens the door to hours lost focusing on other people and your relationships with them.

We have worked hard to set social media limits for ourselves. By setting a certain amount of time that we allow ourselves to network with others, we are making sure that our use of social media never takes a priority over our marriage or family.

Hold Certain Times as Sacred

Similar to setting limits, it is essential that you set device-free times. By designating times that you will not use your devices, it will allow your focus to truly be on one another. Some of our favorite places to ditch the devices are dinner and family time.

When choosing the times that you’ll not use social media, carefully consider the times that give you most opportunity to connect with your spouse and make those times off-limit for being online.

Keep an Eye on Who You’re Talking to

Social media avenues are all good at recommending people that you may want to connect with. Each site uses your already-existing connections to open the door to new ones. While this resource may be good for reconnecting with that old friend, it also opens the door to talking with people that you, otherwise, wouldn’t have.

Be careful of the online relationships that you engage in. Befriending and talking with people of the opposite sex is a huge no-no as the possibilities of where it may lead can be devastating to your marriage. Talking regularly with your spouse about your social media connections will help you to be certain that each one is positive for your marriage.

Some Things Should Remain between the Two of You

There are some topics that should just stay between you and your spouse. The details of your romantic evening and the challenges that you’re having with your child are just two such topics. While social media is a wonderful way to connect and share pictures with family and friends, it also can be an invasion of privacy if you let it.

Make sure that those more intimate parts of your life with your husband or wife remain intimate and aren’t open to the eyes of all of the connections that you’ve made online. 

Put Your Best Foot Forward

While we all work to minimize our disagreements with our spouses, they are still bound to happen. That is the absolute worst time that you could post on social media. Remember that, despite your disagreement, you still love your spouse and he/she deserves your respect.

By governing your ill thoughts and not sharing them on social media, you’re allowing you both to move forward from your argument. Rather than posting about your disagreement (and speaking badly of your spouse,) wait until you have positive words to post and put your best foot forward in your online community.

Do you have other thoughts about guarding your marriage from the trap of social media? Please share your ideas!

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