By Brigit B.
In the world of the rich and famous, romances have often been declared and hearts broken publicly on a variety of social media platforms. Some celebrities seem to be extremely at ease with publicising their private lives.
But we ordinary people, although we may think that this celebrity-led trend is worth adopting, are in fact not comfortable making our romantic feelings public on these digital platforms.
Shying away from public romanticism may have many reasons. The first one that comes to mind is that we may believe that we don’t have anything important and big enough to share. After all, our lives are only ordinary!
We may also believe that to openly share our romantic thoughts is a little bit cheesy. To be a “cool dude” is far better considered than being a “hopeless romantic”.
The fear of being disliked by our peers can also shape the way we document our relationship on social media. Once you have involved a large number of people in your relationship, they feel like they have permission to participate in it as well.
Keeley, who has been in a loving relationship for few years now, admits that she takes great care in crafting her posts about her couple to avoid any form of toxic comments.
“Young generations are very judgmental, and they can find anything to tear another person down,” she said.
The same pressure is felt by Liz, who wants to avoid being judged and criticised by her peers.
“Gen Zs like to pick at things and wiggle their way into people’s business,” she said.
So, she keeps her postings brief and to a minimum.
We are facing a dilemma here. Although we may consider that the declaration of love is not complete unless it is on social media, we also know that using social media is a risky business.
It could be that those who refuse to document their love life on social media are on the right path to free themselves from social scrutiny.
Blake and his girlfriend have opted for the “old school method” … the photo album that they keep in the privacy of their home. To Blake, making the relationship public on social media is in fact seeking attention and validation.
“Everybody have their reasons to post but we have now evolved to a place where we are so comfortable that we don’t need to,” said Blake.
Whether it is Keeley, Liz or Blake, they all agree. Staying away from social media will give you more time and space to pay greater attention to your partner. You will be the judge!
Featured image: Love on social media isn’t always smiley faces and heart emojis. Photo: Adam Jang/Unsplash
