Unfriend your partner on Facebook 'if you want to stay together', therapist says

A couples counsellor has some unexpected advice on how to date in the digital age

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A therapist has come up with some unexpected advice for couples looking to strengthen their relationship - unfriend each other on Facebook.

New York based couples counsellor Ian Kerner told PRI about how he created a Facebook account for a short period and found it negatively impacted on his marriage.

"I realised for a little while with my own wife that I didn’t really want her to be my friend on Facebook. I didn’t want all of that extra information. If anything, I wanted less information- I wanted more mystery and more unpredictability," he said.

"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 do recommend to couples."

Some 1.4 billion are on Facebook as people around the world become more and more used to living their lives online.

However, Kerner said that whilst it can make you feel closer to your partner to be able to get constant updates on their lives, it’s important to leave a little mystery.

"There’s something about being in a relationship where you want some unknowningness and some unpredictability," he added.