The technological age has increased concerns that humanity is suffering when it comes to face to face interaction. A plethora of psychological studies have looked at certain components surrounding how humans interact with each other on social media sites, and a new study suggests that contrary to concerns, technology may be helpful managing conflict in intimate relationships. That is to say, the study found that talking about private relationship concerns via social media such as Facebook or email may help couples effectively resolve their fights.

"My dad signs into my mom's Facebook to post pictures of himself," says twitter user johny boii, followed by a series of laughing emojis.

It's one of the most recent posts circulating with the hashtag #relationshipgoals, a hashtag that has hundreds of posts from those eager to share their relationships on social media. But there's definitely been some public concern that social media is not the place for anything beyond surface level discussion between couples. Nevertheless, a new study suggests that social media may not be such a bad place to ease tension after a fight.

According to Psychology Today, "Research has shown that, in intimate relationships, social media can be quite helpful. The core of this is due to the asynchronous nature of online communication. Subjects in this study reported that the time to think or cool off when they are angry is very important. Once they had enough time to think, they could use social media, email, or text messages to send apologies, "I love you" messages, or to test the waters with the other person."The study in question is also reported to have shown that social media interaction can ease anxiety when talking about difficult subjects.

Author Robert Weiss, who has also conducted research on how technology is shaping humanity, states, "Despite the sometimes legitimate reservations many people have about digital dating (mostly that it is still very easy to lie about things like education, financial well being, and current relationship status), it appears that technology used for romantic purposes, especially when technology-driven romantic interaction is paired with real-world dates, can indeed propel relationships forward."

It would appear that based on this evidence, relationships that aren't dominated by face fo face contact may not be so bad afterall. There are some reservations however. The first is that misunderstandings can come from the lack of non-verbal cues. Moreover, there's also no evidence that supports the full blown replacement of physical contact with digital contact can sustain a healthy relationship. Nevertheless, this recent study is overall good news for those of us who enjoy being able to use the relationship goals hashtag.