Communication is one of the most crucial part of daily human lives. Human beings are social beings and cannot live without communicating with each other and that is a fact we all know.

With communication being crucial in daily human lives, it is paramount in any relationship and especially in a marital relationship.

In another light, technology advancement has also increased at an alarming rate and has brought along both excitement and uncertainties.

The 21^st century has become quite the digital age with technology becoming a part of everyone’s day to day lives.

It is safe to say also that it has implications both negative on individual and relationships, one of them being marriage.

Electronic items like phones and laptops have increased in its usage and have also impacted the matrimonial community.

Marriage is physical act that brings together two totally different individuals but most of its effect is emotional.

Humans are attached with our emotions and it is our emotions that maks us human beings and affect our perceptions of our relationship and our lives.

Take for instance when you are constantly being abused or negatively spoken to in a relationship that you have, the urge to get out of that relationship will be great.

On the other hand, if you are treated respectfully and talked to with kindness, the more likely you would feel to remain in that relationship. We as human crave things like attention, loyalty, respect, kindness and more.

The more goodness we experience, the more likely we remain where we are and the opposite happens if we experience the opposite.

Having said that, the digital era of this century has definitely had an impact on marriages all around the world and results may differ in different areas.

Despite marriage being sacred in PNG's former state, marriages in PNG nowadays are no longer strictly in accordance with ancestral traditions.

While the introduction of mobile phones has made long distance communicating more easier, the increased usage of the devices especially in marriages reap some negative effects.

The good part of mobile phones especially in a marital situation is the fact that husbands, wives and children may keep in touch whenever they are apart.

On the other hand, the most common negative implication it has is that it makes easier the spouses to carry on relationships with others often in secret or sometimes openly and unashamedly.

This then contributes to the misunderstanding and arguments that occur in a lot of marriages in PNG and across the world.

In addition, local polygamy was restricted to ones home area in the past but nowadays such initiatives like the community-approved polygamy are diminishing.

Thanks to easy transport, self centred thinking and efficient communication through mobile phone, this modern form of polygamy is spreading and at the same time spreading suspicion, jealousy and marital conflict especially in younger couples.

It is now up to every individual, parent and mostly churches to see this challenge presented in front of us and find ways to address this issue at hand.

Young couples especially need good preparation to help them establish strong foundations to their marriage but above all will need God's help to sustain their love and commitment.

As parents, churchworkersand lay workers, we should make it our responsibility to learn more about factors that destabilise marriages and family life and devote considerable time and energy to this task.

In ending, our goal in relation to the marriage and family problems prevalent in today's society is to show the society that Jesus's message is as relevant today as it ever was.

Amanda Kundil