Facebook is a behemoth of the social media world. If you do not realize its impact on our society, then you are dead and are not reading this anyway.

I read a thought-provoking article that gives some excellent advice on preserving your marriage in light of Facebook. I appreciate that the author does not attempt to label Facebook-usage as sin, but she does accurately portray it as being a medium by which sin can come to light.

The article lists some “marriage check-up” questions to ask in order to gauge the level of intimacy and communication within a marriage relationship that would be an excellent tool to work through with your spouse. The article attributes the questions to Mark Gaither, who has written a book for those who have been through a divorce.

Here are the questions:

• “Do you express your desires to your partner without demands, or do you simply expect him or her to know what you want?”
• “Do you know what makes your partner feel loved, and, if so, what is your response to that knowledge?”
• “Do you and your partner discuss expectations and then negotiate, or does someone bear the blame when one or the other is disappointed?”
• “In a conflict with your partner, do you use words for any reason other than to be understood?”
• “In a conflict, is your first priority to understand your partner or to be understood?”
• “Do you and your partner view issues causing conflict as the enemy, or do you turn on one another?”