GirlsGuideTo | Are Your Favorite Shows Ruining Your Relationship?!

You might not want to get so excited for the Fall TV lineup just yet. You could be putting your relationship in jeopardy if you and/or your guy are frequent television watchers. For obvious reasons, spending the night in front of the tube doesn’t exactly translate to quality time with your beau. But, what you don’t realize is how your preoccupation with fictional television portrayals of romance might be ruining your commitment to your spouse.

Our society continues to immerse itself more deeply in media images from both TV and the web, but do we understand how these images are impacting us? The rate of marriage failure in the US is still high, so it’s important to take note of different factors that might be influencing the failure of so many relationships.

Many of television’s most-watched shows feature romantic relationships prominently, like The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, True Blood, How I Met Your Mother, and more. How might your favorite shows impact your romantic relationships?

A study conducted by Albion College analyzed nearly 400 couples and their television viewing frequency and how satisfied they claimed to be in their relationship. The participants responded to a variety of questions including:

Relationship expectations
Satisfaction with current romantic relationship
Relationship commitment
Belief in television portrayals of romantic relationships
Television viewing frequency
And more Q’s that focused on their spousal relationship

Results revealed that the people who believe in the fictional and unrealistic portrayals of romance on TV are actually less committed to their partners and believe that the available alternatives to their spouse are more attractive.

In addition, experts discovered that the more an individual believed in the television romance, the higher those people though their relationship costs were. Relationship costs include a person’s loss of personal freedom, loss of time, or their partner’s unattractive qualities.

What can you do?

As Dr. Jeremy Osborn, the report’s author said, "My hope would be that people would read this article and take a look at their own relationships and the relationships of those around them. How realistic are your expectations for your partner and where did those expectations come from?"

So, don’t get upset that your guy hasn’t “chronologized” his entire life up until the moment he met you like HIMYM’s Ted, or that your relationship isn’t as adorable as Lily and Marshall’s.

What do you think? Does the TV you watch ever affect your relationship? Let us know in the comments!

To keep your relationship happy & healthy: