Exploring human behavior is fascinating. With just a short tour of social networks, we find fantastic details that explain the construction of human relationships in the digital age. For example, the profile photos of people with their partner, which say much more than we imagine.
Let’s start with a simple, but profound question: why would someone choose to post a profile photo with their partner? The options for a profile photo are actually many: a photo of yourself, with a friend, with a family member, your pet, and even a landscape.
There is a certain peculiarity in people who choose a profile photo with their partner. Everything seems to indicate that it is a kind of “exhibition”, not necessarily positive or negative, since that depends on how public the relationship is.
The truth is that, in one way or another, choosing profile photos that include your partner, mentioning them or them in comments or updates, as well as posting your relationship status, can be signs of how you feel in the relationship. Plus, you may also be sending important messages to people who see that.
How many profile photos are there with couples?
Psychologists call this behavior “didactic displays” and assure that they are very common among human beings. According to a behavioral assessment on Facebook, one of the most popular social networks, about 70% of profiles had posted their relationship status. 20% had a profile photo with their partner and 15% mentioned their partner in comments or recent posts.
Also in: Do you think you are the perfect couple? Take this quiz and discover the truth
What people do this?
Some people are more likely than others to use a teaching screen like this on their social networks. Although the reasons vary depending on how often they do it, what is a fact is that people who do it do so because they feel satisfied or committed to their romantic relationship.
However, in some cases this behavior can also reveal jealousy and even anxiety. When the style of the publications or photographs leans towards anxious attachment it declares otherwise; for example, worry about rejection or abandonment by the partner.
Although we must emphasize that everything depends on the romantic state of the relationship, and in that case we have to consider that everything can change depending on how a person feels at each moment of their relationship. You are more likely to post relevant information on days when you are more insecure about your partner’s feelings or on days when you feel more satisfied with the relationship.
Why show profile photos with your partner?
Psychological proposals based on a survey carried out with 236 Facebook users suggest that people who show their relationship do so because they see that person as part of who they are. That is, they see themselves deeply intertwined with their partner, they become romantically involved, and in that sense there is nothing negative about it. However, when we consider the other part, the display becomes harmful.
It may be a strategy where exhibitions as a couple are motivated by the need to protect relationships from the threats that exist on social networks, from ex-partners to romantic rivals who could try to end the current relationship.
Away from social networks, the study found that people committed to their relationship participate in a series of behaviors to defend this connection. Likewise, the desire to maintain the good things about a relationship is fueled by the continuous presentation of the couple on networks.
What others say
From an external perspective, those who observe the profile of a person with a partner feel that that person could be more pleasant and even more likely to have a satisfying and committed relationship. Likewise, it is also perceived that this person will not be as open to a romantic declaration or an approach to other people.
In this sense, spreading the moments enjoyed as a couple should be a personal satisfaction. Far from jealousy, worry or the desire to control the flow of your relationship is the possibility of enjoying it to the fullest. Consider taking this romantic interaction off of social media and turning it into a more personal experience.