One recent Facebook study focuses on couples, while another looks across a broader range of relationships
A new study suggests that all those couples who share details about their love lives on Facebook aren’t overcompensating for something that isn’t there. In fact, some researchers think couples who share about their relationships on Facebook may be happier than those who don’t.
Interestingly though, a different study brought the exact opposite results—at least in a broader sense.
Facebook-sharers happier in relationships
According to Mary Ward of The Sydney Morning Herald, one study was conducted by Pennsylvania State University and the University of Houston. The researchers who conducted the study examined 188 students who are in relationships and their habits when posting to social media.
They found that students who shared couples selfies and checked in at the locations of their dates tended to be happier than those who didn’t. Mai-Ly Steers, the lead author of the study, said students who share their love lives are not projecting false images of happiness but rather are using Facebook to demonstrate how important their relationships are to them.
Another Facebook study suggests the opposite
On the other hand though, a different study conducted by Union College looked at a broader spectrum of people—those between the ages of 18 and 83. According to the Press Trust of India (via IBN Live), people who are insecure in their relationships tend to post more often.
Now to be fair, this study was a bit different than the first one in that it was conducted via surveys from a much broader range of people. Also it tended to look at broader relationships rather than just love relationships. This study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
Researchers said Facebook users who had a greater tendency toward attachment anxiety posted what they refer to as “feedback seeking” posts on Facebook. These types of social media users are very worried that people don’t love them as much as they want to be loved and worry a lot about being abandoned. They also say they feel better about themselves when a lot of people comment on their Facebook posts or click “like” or otherwise give feedback on them.
The study also identified another type of Facebook user—the extravert. However, researchers said more study is needed to identify their social media habits.
