Would you unfriend your partner on Facebook for your love life?

Couples who delete each other on Facebook are more likely to stay together, according to relationship expert Ian Kerner.

The New York-based therapist claims that unfriending your significant other on social media can put the spark back into a relationship. Even better, he says, people should delete their Facebook accounts entirely to free up more time to spend with their partners.

In a recent interview with PRI, Kerner cited technology and compatibility as the main subjects that keep cropping up in couple's therapy.

He says the use of mobile phones means couples are spending less talking to each other face-to-face, causing miscommunication and arguments.

According to the Pew Research Center, 25 per cent of married or partnered adults who text have texted their partner when they were both home together.

The same number, have felt that their partner was distracted by their mobile phone and eight per cent have had arguments about how much time their partner spends online.

Kerner, who has now deleted his Facebook account, said there were some challenges that arose in his own relationship because of social media.

'I realised for a little while with my own wife that I didn't really want her to be my friend on Facebook,' he told PRI.

‘I didn't want all of that extra information. If anything I wanted less information — I wanted more mystery and more unpredictability. ‘I didn't want to know that she was posting about being tired or having her third coffee for the day. So I specifically unfriended her during my brief tenure on Facebook. It's something that I recommend to couples.’ He says that a 'digital detox' – even if it's for a short period of time – can benefit all couples. He claims it add mystery back into a relationship, and gives couples a chance to sit down and talk face-to-face.

'I see this issue as really less about technology, and more about healthy communication and boundaries in relationships,' Duana Welch, author of Love Factually, told DailyMail.com.

'Some couples are fine sharing lots on social media; some aren't. But in many cases, as Ian Kerner pointed out, there may be a mismatch. These views go against the widelyheld opinion that couples should be open with each other about their social media activity. In a recent study, more than half of lovers (56 per cent) believe sharing a mobile PIN, email password or social media login details is the best way to commit to someone. And more than a third of people admitted they have already been given to their partner's accounts. The study, commissioned by Samsung, surveyed 2,000 British adults during the last weekend of January.

All of the respondents were in relationships and the majority of the participants were female (51 per cent). Almost 40 per cent said they know their partner's email password and more than a quarter (26 per cent) admitted knowing their significant other's Facebook login details. The study found four in ten adults in a relationship regularly sneak a look at their partner's phone behind their back. But, six in 10 of these people have caught their partner cheating. A third have ruined a romantic surprise by looking through a phone or email account.

(This article was published in Daily Mail.)