When Partners Display Love on Social Media for All to See

Source: Courtesy of Pixabay, Gracini Studios

There are many individual differences when it comes to Facebook behaviors, especially those involving romantic relationships. Some people make no mention of their significant other and post few (if any) photos. Others put their relationships at the forefront and have a wall full of conversations between them and their partners for public consumption. What does our Facebook use, when it comes to the public display of our relationships with our partners, say about the relationship itself?

What the Research Says

Toma and Choi (2015) conducted a study to determine how social validation can affect a couple’s commitment to one another. They used the public commitment theory “…which focuses on the effects of public self-presentations on individuals’ self-views” as a framework for their research (Toma & Choi, 2015, p. 367). The researchers note that several features of Facebook allow for public commitment toward a romantic partner. These features include:

• Allowing users to indicate that they are in a relationship
• Enabling users to post photographs of their significant other, relationship
• Providing a forum by which partners can communicate with one another publicly
• Allowing users to publicly post which events they attend, the networks they belong to, and groups they affiliate with
• Enabling people to accrue mutual friends, thus further connecting them (Toma & Choi, 2015)

Toma and Choi (2015) studied 180 students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who were in relationships. They were measured at two time points, 6 months apart. The researchers hypothesized that the more self-presentational elements there were in the postings, the more committed individuals would be to their romantic partners. This would in turn lead to a more stable relationship, and as such relationship commitment would mediate the connection between self-presentation of the couple on Facebook and relationship longevity.

The researchers accessed the participants’ Facebook profiles, using an app that allowed them to examine the commonalities between the participants and their partners. Research assistants recorded whether the participants listed if they were in a relationship on their profile, the number of photos in which both the participant and partner were tagged, the number of comments posted by the participants on their partners’ wall in the month preceding the study, the number of comments posted by the partners on the participants’ wall in the month preceding the study, the number of mutual friends, and the number of groups in which both were enrolled.

Results demonstrated that indicating that one is in a relationship, the number of photos of the participant and partner, and the number of participant-initiated wall posts were all positively associated with relationship commitment. The number of mutual friends and partner-instigated wall posts, however, were negatively associated with relationship commitment. The number of group affiliations was not associated with commitment (Toma & Choi, 2015). Being that relationships were found in two different directions; the first hypothesis was only partially supported. Results also demonstrated that commitment was related to longevity, supporting the second hypothesis.

Referring back to the first hypothesis and the results indicating that listing a relationship, shared dyadic photos, and the number of messages written on a partners’ wall was associated with commitment is consistent with the public commitment theory. Toma and Choi (2015) note that the photos may have been a cue for partners to view themselves as part of a couple, thereby cementing the relationship.

The authors note that the relationship between the number of friends and less commitment may be explained by the fact that there is a larger social network, and as such, a greater number of potential romantic alternatives. Additionally, the negative relationship between the partners writing on the participants’ walls and commitment may be because the participants see it as a sign of possessiveness.

Despite the mixed results for the first hypothesis, what is clear is that Facebook plays a large role in dating and relationships.