Watching series and movies as a couple strengthens the relationship

Although in couple relationships the personality of each of its members influences a lot, it is no less true that the habits that are shared are the ones that really make that loving bond work or not. We may not be too similar to the person we are dating, but if there are routines on a daily basis that make us feel a special connection, the affective union will be reinforced.

Decades ago, these healthy habits for the relationship could be walking, going to a specific place full of calm, or simply chatting. Today, to all these possible sources of shared well-being, a new routine that is very common in couple relationships has been added: watch tv shows together. In addition, this routine has special advantages, according to research.

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Watching series and movies as a couple unites more

Times change and with them so do relationships. The development of new technology may have led to the formation of loving bonds between people from very different fields, without circles of friends in common, but

easy access to pieces of fiction on TV or online help these couples create stories of their own, shared anecdotes and, in general, all kinds of beliefs, opinions and emotions linked to the hobby of following series together.

According to research, watching series at the same time becomes an emotionally significant experience that is experienced as something shared, so a similar way to what would happen if the members of the couple lived in the first person relevant events that occur in their social circles next. Fictional characters become part of the lives of both, and that makes them feel closer.

How do you know this? A team of psychologists from the University of Aberdeen, led by researcher Sarah Gomillion, have designed a way of measuring the effect that series, movies and TV programs have on couple relationships, as we will see.

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How was the study done?

For this research, the results of which have been published in the scientific journal Journal of Personal and Social Relationships, the psychologists recruited 259 students with a stable relationship (the mean duration of these couple relationships was 16 months) to answer the questions in the questionnaires specifically designed for this research.

These questions dealt with issues related to the level of satisfaction with the couple's relationship, How much time did you spend watching television series as a couple, and how many shared friends did you have with your partner? couple. Also included was the issue of how much time was spent reading books together.

The results showed that the people who shared more friends with their partner and who used to watching more television series with the other person showed a higher level of satisfaction with their relationship. However, the link between watching television together and feeling good about your partner was much stronger in people who shared few or no friends with the other. Specifically, the high scores in mutual trust and sentimental closeness stood out.

In a second part of the investigation, another 128 people with a partner were taken as volunteers and, in this case, divided into two groups. The first group was asked to think about the number of friends they shared with their partner, and the second was asked the opposite, to think about non-shared friends.

Then, all the volunteers answered questions about the amount of television and book reading time they shared with their partner, about the degree of motivation they felt to spend more time sharing those kinds of moments, and on their level of satisfaction with the relationship.

The results showed that those people more accustomed to sharing television moments with their couple and who in turn were conditioned to think about their lack of shared friendships tended to manifest more desire to spend time watching series, movies and programs together, as if they know that this is beneficial to their relationship.

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A little "blanket and film" won't hurt

Of course, these data are only an approximation of the way in which to stop moments together watching series can strengthen the common experiences and references we use on a daily basis to express ourselves with the couple; It is still necessary to investigate more and find out if there is a pure cause-effect relationship between this habit and the strength of love ties.

Besides, we must remember that all excess is bad, and almost certainly make those moments lying on the sofa the main basis of a relationship it can't be good (sooner or later the mototonía will take its toll, if it doesn't do it before the pain of back). However, for the moment we already have more excuses to make a whole ritual of that hobby based on the "manta y peli". The affective life can thank you in the short term.