Facebook profiles have been found to correspond closely with real-life. The social networking website can be used to measure levels of narcissism and indicate problem drinking.
Now, researchers have uncovered that Facebook provides a glimpse into the connection between romantic relationships and self-identity.
“Love is often thought to involve a merging of identities or the sense that one’s lover is part of oneself,” Laura R. Saslow of the University of California at San Francisco and her colleagues wrote in a study published in the July issue of Social Psychological and Personality Science.
This merging of identities can be found — at least symbolically — on Facebook. The popular social networking websites allows individuals to create a public representation of their self-identity. For individuals in romantic relationships, this public representation of their self-identity often includes their significant other.
Saslow and her colleagues found individuals who posted profile pictures on Facebook that included their partner reported higher levels of relationship satisfaction and closeness than individuals who did not. They also found individuals who were more satisfied with their relationships were more likely to share relationship-relevant information on Facebook.
To ensure they were really measuring relationship satisfaction and not some other factor, the researchers also investigated the individuals’ personal well-being, satisfaction with life, and personality traits. None of these other factors were significantly associated with posting dyadic profile pictures on Facebook.
Saslow and her colleagues’ research included three sub-studies and a total of 479 participants.
“When people interact with others online, they must choose how to represent themselves,” the researchers explained in the study. “The current research provides the first empirical evidence to show that the ways in which people chose to represent themselves pictorially on Facebook are related to how happy they are in their relationships and how close they feel to their romantic partner.”
The study was co-authored by Amy Muise and Emily A. Impett of the University of Toronto, and Matt Dubin of Claremont Graduate University.