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New research undertaken at the University of Missouri has revealed a link between heavy twitter use and conflict within relationships that can lead to separation and divorce. The study found that in relationships where at least one party uses Twitter on a regular basis couples were likely to argue about this usage irrespective of the length of their relationship. This is in stark contrast to prior research conducted at the university which found that, when one half of a relationship regularly used Facebook, this was significantly more likely to bring about conflict when the relationship was less than 36 months old. In order to determine how regular Twitter usage affected couples, the study’s authors interviewed over 500 couples of varying ages on their use of the site and the regularity with which this brought about conflict. It was found that, the more regularly one party used Twitter, the more likely it was that this would bring about serious arguments that could lead to significant problems including divorce. It has been claimed by relationship therapists that such conflict more than likely stems from the fact that being active on any kind of device whilst alone with a partner immediately breaks any connection that exists between them and can lead one spouse to believe that they are boring their partner. The fact that many users send messages that could be described as flirtatious was believed to be another cause of conflict. Relationship experts have also suggested that any couples that are experiencing such conflict attempt to reduce their use of the social networking site to more reasonable levels, noting that, in any social situation, that a person should always pay more attention to people who are present rather than a device such as a phone, tablet or computer.