Why do couples show PDA on social media? Findings published in Psychology Today suggest that partnered people are posting their social media PDA for one of two very different reasons:
They’re either truly happy or they’re trying to overcompensate for a lack of love in their relationship.
Asking nearly 350 adults a variety of questions ranging from how often they post potentially embarrassing information about their partner or relationship to if they would post content on their partner’s wall that would uncomfortable to say in person, the study’s finding weren’t all that shocking.
People who post “normally” (those who would not post embarrassing information about their partner) on Facebook were found to generally be more satisfied with their relationship, while those who post riskier content or overly affectionate posts tend to be struggling in their relationship.
Research has also shown that aggressive PDA posting could lead to the poster feeling better about their relationship.
According to Psychology Today: “Those who posted more relationship information on Facebook felt that Facebook helped bring them closer to their partners. Overall, excessive displays were not related to these perceptions. However, for people who were especially low in relationship satisfaction, posting excessive displays was associated with perceptions that Facebook had brought them closer. This suggests that these types of over the top displays are being used to compensate for weaker relationships.”
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