God I love science
Ah, cuffing season. Isn’t it great that everyone’s quickly found the love of their life to help them through the cold weather? Isn’t it really great how rather than keeping that convenient love to themselves they’ve chosen to slap it all over your newsfeed with their cubic zirconia Christmas engagement rings and Moonpig Valentine’s Day cards? Yep.
Well don’t let it get under your skin too much. Apparently couples who spam your newsfeed like this actually secretly fucking hate each other. Unsurprisingly.
Speaking to Mail Online, sexologist Nikki Goldstein said: “Often it’s the people who post the most who are seeking validation for their relationship from other people on social media.
“The likes and comments can be so validating that when someone is really struggling, that’s where they get their up from – not the person making the gesture, but what other people will say about it.”
She explained that the trend was worst on Valentine’s Day, when people love to flaunt their gifts and candlelit dinners. But according to Goldstein it can be an indicator that one person in the relationship is controlling or possessive, or that they are spending all their time watching the likes and comments build rather than actually talking to each other on date night (knew it).
Referring to your partner as “my man” or “bae” or “buh”, you get the picture, is also a bad sign. Goldstein says this shows ownership and rather than indicating anything about how in love you are, it’s more likely that it’s there to flaunt a new relationship to an ex.
This comes after previous research from Brunel University surveyed 555 Facebook users and found that people who posted all the time about their romantic partners were more likely to have low self-esteem.