Attachments in the Digital Age: Social Media's Role in Predicting MaritalBurnout

Abstract

This quantitative study explores the controlling role and interconnection of attachment styles in the mrelationship between social media use and marital burnout among married adults. Through a correlational research design, the data were gathered using survey forms of Social Networking Usage Questionnaire (Gupta & Bashir, 2018), Couple Burnout Measure (Pines, 2013), and the Adult Attachment Scale (Collins & Read,1990) from married couples (N=309) of Multan District through purposive sampling. The results show a significantly positive association between social media usage and marital burnout (r = 0.187, p < 0.01), highlighting the important influence of social media on adult marital burnout. The interrelation
between social media usage and marital burnout is well moderated by attachment patterns. The relationship between social media usage and marital burnout is significantly strengthened by close, dependent, and anxious attachment styles. Additionally, demographic differences were observed concerning social media usage, marital burnout, and attachment styles. Results indicate that significant demographic differences based on gender and marriage duration were identified across all the study
variables. The findings of this research may assist married couples to improve their relationships, potentially reducing divorce rates and benefiting society.