In conjunction with Relate, the relationship experts, we’ve launched The Way We Are Now – The TalkTalk Relate Relationships Report.
This is the first time a report of this breadth has been published and it gives a fascinating insight into the nation’s relationships with partners, friends, families and work colleagues.
A major theme of the report is the changing nature of communication and the ways in which this is affecting even our closest relationships.
Communication is fundamental to good relationships and too many relationships are suffering because of a lack of communication.
One in six people (17%) told our researchers being ignored in conversation is their biggest complaint about their partner, ahead of traditional gripes like “snoring” (10%) and newer problems such as “watching TV programmes I don’t like” (9%).
The report also found that communication is evolving too, and the internet is of course increasingly important in even our closest relationships. Almost half of us (49%) email, call or text our partners more than once a day, in addition to the all-important face-to-face time. This rises to more than four in five (81%) among young people between 18 and 24 years old.
We were fascinated to see that more than a quarter (27%) of parents said they use social networks like Facebook and MySpace to keep in contact with their children, and nearly one in 10 (9%) stay in touch with their kids via Skype or similar webcam-based systems.
One of the most disturbing findings of the report was that people in their late 30s and early 40s were the loneliest and also the unhappiest about the balance in their relationships. Many of them complained about not having enough time to dedicate to friends and family due to their working commitments.
So in response to these worrying findings, we are offering free calls for our customers from their TalkTalk landlines to Relate’s helpline for a limited period – from 8am-5pm on October 1st and 9am-5pm on October 2nd.
We wanted to remove any potential barrier that might stop our customers from taking their first steps towards receiving counselling and support from Relate, if they felt this was appropriate.
And if you want to find out more about the report, you can read it in full on the Relate website here.
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