The lovers in the smartphone age: Communication and psychological aspects related to the beginning and maintenance of romantic relationships

Smartphones comprise an important, sometimes crucial, piece of people’s contemporary life along multiple dimensions. The aim of the present study was to analyze how these devices are used in romantic relationships. From a socio-determinist view of communication technologies, this work makes a comprehensive theoretical review of communication and psychological motivations associated to different smartphone use patterns in the pre- (e.g., search for romantic partner on dating apps) and post-beginning of the relationship. Particularly, relevant advances in this line of research are described, whereas a discussion of the extent that smartphone use influences the relationship formation, consolidation, and ending is included. In addition, some negative effects from alternative uses of smartphones are also reviewed, such as phubbing, sexting, and ciberbullying. In this view, the present work introduces a road map for upcoming empirical analyses regarding the instrumental role of technologies on romantic relationships