A recent study sheds light on the games that are sparking squabbles and causing conflict between couples, and how to find solutions if you're at a loss when it comes to gaming in your relationship.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. O no, it is an ever-fixèd mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. Cheers for that, William Shakespeare. He had a real way with words, didn't he? Well, times were simpler back then. You probably lived to the grand old age of 45 (if you were lucky) and left behind a ramshackle hut with a poisoned water pump for your fourteen children and equally sickly partner. Nowadays, we might have a greater grasp on how sewage systems should work, but our romantic relationships are subject to stressors as old as time. Who's cooking this evening? Did you take the bins out? You're spending too much time on knucklebones and you forgot to schedule something for date night this week!
Advert
More or less. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and this study from CardsChat shows that our pastimes might be weighing on the minds of our partners. Surveying a thousand adults in the UK, four games were found to be revealing rifts in relationships: Call of Duty (38%), FIFA (34%), Fortnite (21%), and Football Manager (15%). As these titles offer repetitive gameplay loops and the opportunity to co-op or compete with friends, it's easy to lose hours and hours of an evening to one more match. Furthermore, the study found that one in 50 couples will clash over gaming every day, which is a little upsetting. There are countless genres and types of games out there, and you'd hope that even if one person isn't overly invested in the hobby, their partner would introduce them to something that they could play together.
When push comes to shove, a quarter of women said that they've tried to ban gaming from the home whereas a fifth of men have attempted to put their foot down. Conversely, 17% of girlfriends have considered splitting up over gaming-related arguments, but 25% of boyfriends have thought about going their separate ways due to conflicts arising from video games. Susan Trombetti, CEO of Exclusive Matchmaking, offered a solution for those who are tearing their hair out. "Opposed to making your household a gaming-free household, if your partner enjoys it, consider limiting the time gaming, similar to how you may set boundaries like no phones while eating dinner together," she said. "Small compromises may work for you and your partner."
Earlier this month, us lot at GAMINGbible shared our favourite games to play with our partners, and there's really something for everyone in this list. If you want to jump into gaming to show support and interest in your S.O. pastimes, then this is a brilliant place to start. And, as championed by the charity Checkpoint, balance is the most important element to keep in mind when gaming, and that advice applies to all walks of life.
Featured Image Credit: Treyarch, cottonbro via PexelsTopics: News, Call of Duty