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Internet relationships 'becoming more popular'
9 April 2008
In the age of modern technology, being suspicious of your spouse has taken on a whole new level.
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A new survey has revealed that one in five nosey couples regularly snoop on their other half – whether through peeking at their emails or reading their text messages.
The research, conducted at Oxford University, found that 13 per cent of people had checked what websites their loved one had visited.
The study was undertaken to determine the societal implications of the internet and its effects on household and family relations.
Questions asked to the respondents included how and where they first met their other half, how much they use the internet and their attitudes towards their internet use.
Commenting on the results, research leader Ellen Helsper told Marie Claire magazine: "We found it quite surprising how many couples check up on each other online."
She added: "However snooping on each other was not necessarily about checking to see if your partner was cheating it could also be to keep an eye on their spending."
The study also showed how big a part the internet is playing in British relationships, with around six per cent of the 2,400 people questioned having met their partner online.
One in three had met on an online dating site, while nearly one in five had hooked up in a chat room.
According to the study, those who date online are more open to people from different backgrounds, with 36 per cent of online couples being educated to different levels.
This was compared to 21 per cent of the couples who had not met online.
Bill Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute, said: "This study is a dramatic illustration of the potential for the internet to reconfigure social relationships."
It seems that the internet is rapidly becoming a significant part of human social interaction, with social networking sites and onlin
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