The Effects of Facebook “Stalking” on Romantic Partners’ Satisfaction, Jealousy, and Insecurity

This study, conducted from January to February 2011, is comprised of the responses of 244 undergraduates in the Communication department at a large urban Midwestern university. These respondents completed a 42-item instrument, which ranged from items about their Facebook usage habits to their levels of satisfaction (Hendrick, 1988), dependency and insecurity (Attridge, Berscheid, & Sprecher, 1998), and jealousy (Pfeiffer & Wong, 1989) in their romantic relationships. Results indicated that individuals who experienced decreases in relational satisfaction and increases in jealousy and insecurity were more likely to lurk or engage in behavioral jealousy (aggressive lurking behaviors). Respondents who reported increased insecurity placed higher importance on the use of Facebook in relationship maintenance. While not all hypotheses were supported, this study represents a significant step forward in understanding how romantic relationships may be impacted by the use of Facebook.