Apparently these self-portraits increase the feeling of jealousy on the part of one of the members of the relationship, since these do not generate a bond as a couple and do provoke those who see them on social networks.
A recent study led by daniel halpernspecialist in social and digital media and professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, has analyzed the relationship between the quality of couple relationships and the tendency or not of their members to post self-portraits on social networks. The conclusion: selfies do not help to strengthen the sentimental bond.
According to this research, there are two reasons that explain this phenomenon. The first is jealousy. Both the fact of showing our intimacy, we not only photograph ourselves, we portray our daily life, as well as comments and public interactions –sometimes inopportune and uneducated– that this generates an increase in the state of alarm of the person who has not uploaded the image. The results of Halpern’s work have shown that jealousy in the couple, and the consequent conflicts, increase in parallel with the increase in selfies published by one of its members.
The second reason is supported by the data of the study, but also by recent theories of social psychology that indicate that the individualistic and egocentric use of social networks leads to a considerable increase in narcissism. And what happens when someone creates an ideal image online is that he tends to underestimate his partner in the real world. The comparison between the gray reality of everyday life and the fictitious world of networks makes the former lose points.
In fact, a study carried out by researchers at the Ohio State University (USA) and who publishes the magazine Personality and Individual Differencesrevealed that the more a person tends to post selfies on social networks, the more predisposed they are to suffer from personality disorders such as narcissism or psychopathy.
Social networks, although it represents a great advance in terms of communication, does not seem to be beneficial for human relationships, especially the couple. More data: a survey carried out by a Swedish operator revealed how two out of three people spy on the messages and mailboxes of their romantic partners, which is a symptom of mistrust, insecurity and jealousy in the couple’s environment. A common finding in surveys of any segment of the population is that men experience more sexual jealousy, and women emotional.
For some authors, however, jealousy is part of the biological mechanism of love. According to the psychologist Gregory L. Whiteof the University of California, in the USA, the need to be unique for at least one person, is controlled by hormonal processes. And when the person in question does not give us exclusive attention, we become suspicious. In the book The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy Is as Necessary as Love and Sex (The dangerous passion: why jealousy is as necessary as passion and sex) The biochemical origin of the phenomenon is also analyzed.
If we consider that jealousy has a biochemical origin, social networks are a weapon that turns us into watchmen and spies of the people next to us. Behavior now has its consequences, however, and not just on a personal level. Since 2015, espionage towards the couple is considered a crime by the Penal Code.
Taken from Very Interesting