Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Perceptions of Social Media Behaviors and Their Effects on Relationship Satisfaction

Publication Date

11-9-2024

College

Sciences and Mathematics, College of

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

SURS Faculty Advisor

Dr. Patrick Morse

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Social media has become an avenue for people of all ages to connect with one another, share highlights of one’s personal life, and even market business and career activities. In doing so, people often fail to recognize the impacts that it can have on their perceptions of life around them. Particularly, viewing partners’ behaviors online can affect one’s relationship satisfaction through displays of high- or low-commitment behaviors such as indicating relationship status online (Black, 2024). The goal of the current study was to explore how experiences with social media influence relationship satisfaction. To continue this research, the current study randomly assigned participants to scenarios that described either positive or negative social media behaviors regarding romantic relationships, such as including a partner in one’s profile photo (positive) or not including one’s partner in their profile photo (negative). They then compared their own relationship to the scenarios, completed questions regarding relationship satisfaction, followed by reporting on their own social media usage. The expected results are that participants assigned to the positive and negative scenarios had similar averages of perceived satisfaction of their own relationships; those who related to the positive scenarios had higher ratings of relationship satisfaction; those who related to the negative scenarios reported lower ratings of relationship satisfaction; and there was a strong negative correlation between social media use and relationship satisfaction. This study supports literature that indicates strong effects that perceptions of social media behaviors can have on individuals’ romantic relationships. In any relationship, it is important to consider the influence that heavy use of social media can have on one’s personal relationship satisfaction.

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