Os impactos das tecnologias digitais de comunicação nos relacionamentos afetivos: os sentidos do controle

Abstract

This survey is intended to clarify how the use of information and communication technologies has been impacting romantic relationships by revealing the reasons why people wish to control their partners. It was based on field research conducted with six respondents. To explain the experience of the respondents and analyze how control is currently present in romantic relationships, we adopted the phenomenological thought based on the Heideggerian philosophy and his critical reflections at the time such method was created. The analysis indicated that the respondents do monitor their partner’s activities and demand transparency so that, through control, they can escape the distress caused by unpredictability. However, instead of relief, most of the respondents experienced significant suffering. Among the things that make it hard to deal with unpredictability, the most expressive were the feeling of insecurity and the habit of comparing to other people.