Scrolling through the news feed on social networks, you can often notice that many of your friends and acquaintances publish pictures that are shared with their couples as the main profile photo. Researchers of social psychology, interested in understanding the patterns of behavior of people on social networks, decided to study in more detail the motives of individuals showing the details of their personal lives to other Internet users. So what can a photo of a couple mean as an avatar on a custom page on a famous social network?
Psychology of social media avatars
So-called “dyadic manifestations,” which are unknowingly used by people to send an important message to potential competitors, may include your friend's romantic partner appearing as the main photo on her profile, theconversation.com claims.
In a recent study that looked at the behavior of Internet users on social networks, psychologists analyzed the percentage of correspondence between “in a relationship” or “married” status with photos of users posted as avatars. As a result of the experiment, it turned out that 29% of all romantic Facebook users shared a profile picture with their couple. For 70%, the status of a dyadic relationship was officially declared - for example, “in a relationship”. In addition, study participants mentioned their romantic partner in 15% of recent Facebook updates.
Some people are more likely to use dyadic manifestations than others. Psychologists argue that the more jealous a person experiences towards their romantic partner, the more likely they are to post their relationship status to show other people.
People with anxious attachment styles who often worry about the possibility of betrayal by their partner are also more likely to use a dyadic profile photo and post relationship status on Facebook. In contrast, they are people who adhere to an avoidant style of attachment and prioritize maintaining their independence. These individuals are unlikely to demonstrate their marital fidelity in such a public way.
A joint photo with a partner on social networks can speak of the existing jealousy in the couple's relationship.
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Deliberately emphasizing your romantic status on the Internet can also indicate the presence of insecurity in the feelings of a partner in an existing couple on the part of at least one of its participants. For example, according to the study, people are more likely to post relationship information on days when they feel more insecure about their partner's feelings for them than usual.
One possible reason for this behavior may be that people in romantic relationships often include their partner in their self-concept, seeing the partner as part of themselves. In addition, by publicly showing off his relationship to other people, one of the partners is trying to protect his relationship from the threats currently existing on social media. For example, former partners, romantic rivals and alternative partners can be “neutralized” with the help of a successful photograph.
Another explanation for the publicity of the relationship may be the low self-esteem of the user of the social network. Demonstrating an ideal relationship to his environment, one of the partners tries to prove to himself and to others that he has a sense of self-worth.
Be that as it may, the researchers note that posting a personal photo on popular social networks forms a positive impression on other users. Thus, the placement of paired photographs and statuses about “marital status” leads to the fact that other people begin to perceive the owner of the profile as a prettier and more inclined person to committed relationships.
Daria Eletskaya
