Sound the alarm: the good old-fashioned relationship is under attack from technology. That seems to be the message from a growing body of psychology research examining how technology is affecting our love lives and friendships.

For many couples, technology is a double-edged sword. The “his” and “hers” towels have been replaced by smartphones that allow people to stay tethered all day, whether it’s to share shopping lists or heart-shaped emoji.

But those same couples get into tiffs when one person pulls out a mobile phone at dinner or clicks on the iPad before bed, forgoing pillow talk for Twitter.

A study published last month in The International Journal of Neuropsychotherapy, for example, found that when one person in a relationship is using some form of technology more than the other, it makes the second person feel ignored and insecure. Or as your therapist may say, it brings up a whole lot of abandonment issues.

“Engaging in technology separate to a partner while in the presence of them encourages a disconnection rather than a connection,” said Christina Leggett, a senior researcher at the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia, who wrote the study with Pieter J Rossouw, a professor there.

“Disconnection in relationships tends to lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and comprises an individual’s sense of safety, attachment and control.”

Recent research

In a study published this year, Pew Research found that 25 per cent of mobile phone users in a relationship believed that their partner was distracted by that person’s mobile phone when they were together.

Eight per cent said they had argued about how much time one party spends online. In 2013, a study by Brigham Young University researchers concluded that texting too much within a relationship could leave partners very dissatisfied with their overall communication. (Saying “sorry” over text in an argument only made things worse, the same study found.) And in 2012, researchers at the Baylor University Hankamer School of Business found that paying too much attention to a mobile phone could ruin relationships with loved ones and friends.

“Phubbing your significant other by giving precedence to your phone activities over paying attention to your significant other is a path to strained relationships,” James Roberts, a professor at Baylor who wrote the 2012 study, wrote in an email, using the shorthand term for “phone snubbing”.

“When one or both people in a couple overuse (variously defined) their cellphone, or other technology, it is likely to undermine their relationship.”

One way to find a balance, according to researchers I spoke with, is to organise device-free outings with your significant other.

That could include weekend hikes in areas without cell service or leaving phones at home during brunch. (Sorry: that means you won’t be able to Instagram your eggs Benedict.)

At home, where it’s more difficult to escape the clutches of tech, researchers suggested setting up gadget-free zones, where laptops, iPads and other devices are banned.