You cannot deny that the use of smartphones in our daily lives have caused drama, whether it be a reply that took too long, a subtweet, or someone declining a phone call. Are phones starting to get in the way of romantic relationships too? Here are ways to identify if your or your partner's phone usage is hindering your relationship.

1. You use your phone before bed.

I don't know about you, but my favorite time of the day is right before bed when you have no distractions and your mind can wander. This is even more fun when you have a partner to share things with! If you or your partner use your phone before bed, you're missing out on valuable conversations about your day, your thoughts or the universe. Plus, the bed is supposed to be a romantic time, and nothing kills romance quite like pulling out your phone.

2. If you are in contact all throughout the day.

If you and your S.O. are constantly calling and texting between and during classes and at work, what are you going to talk about when you get home? If you stay unplugged from each other during your personal day, you'll get to have the conversation when you see each other about how your day was.

3. You fight via text message.

Soooo many misinterpretations happen this way. Also, if you fight via text message, you will probably not be having a productive conversation

4. You use your phones while you eat together.

Making dinner and going out to dinner should be a fun, memorable experience. You either worked really hard to prepare the food, or you paid for the food. Either way, it should be memorable and your partner should be more wrapped up in you than in the phone.

5.Your partner looks at their phone while you're telling a story.

If you're telling a story and your partner is staring at their phone the whole time and barely paying attention to you, something is up. Researchers have found that we check our phones every 4-6 minutes. We need to make conscious efforts to not look at our phones while someone is talking to us.

"Phubbing" is derived from the words 'phone snubbing' and is now one of the leading causes of conflicts in relationships. Being addicted to your smartphone doesn't mean your relationship is coming to an inevitable doom, because most college-aged adults are addicted to their smartphones these days, whether we want to admit it or not.

We can help our relationships by putting away our smartphones when we are with our SOs and engaging in conversation and making memories.