Binge-watching a TV show with your sweetheart might not sound like the most exciting or romantic activity, but if your social circles don’t overlap very much, it could be the secret to a long-lasting relationship.
According to a recent study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, watching the same TV shows, reading the same books, or scheduling regular movie nights can make couples feel like part of the same social world. The researchers found that couples who have mutual friends, or share the same friend group, tend to feel a stronger connection with each other. When couples are missing that social connection, however, TV shows, books, movies, and other “shared media experiences” can fill in the gap. Regularly partaking in those activities allowed couples to feel closer to each other, as if the characters they watched together on TV, or read about in books, were part of a shared group of friends. So if you and your significant other don’t run in the same social circles, that’s okay! Make some make believe friends by watching some TV shows together, or reading the same book and discussing it. If anything, this is a great excuse to watch lots of TV together.
Let’s stay home and watch TV: The benefits of shared media use for close relationships | Journal of Social and Personal Relationships via Science of Us
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