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Bridie Pearson-Jones
May 15, 2017
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Pics or it didn't happen.
Once upon a time, if you put your partner's name followed by a heart emoji in your MSN screen name, you were basically engaged.
Now couples have to negotiate the politics of Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and more to figure out whether or not they're "official".
Well stop worrying, because those who don't post about their relationship on social media, are actually the happiest, according to a study.
It's completely normal and healthy to be proud and public about who you're dating. However, there's a connection between how content you genuinely are and how often you post coupley selfies. There are a few reasons for this.
Firstly, people who don't use social media are generally more happy overall. Excessive social media use is linked to depression as people compare their lives to other people.
When you're happy with your life (or a relationship) you're naturally more present for it, and not taking selfies or updating your status.
Also, you can actually make yourself feel better about a part of your life simply by thinking that other people see it differently and making it seem like you have a "perfect" life.
In other words, if we can effectively brainwash ourselves into being happy by making others think we're happy (paging George Orwell)...
However, those who are validated by their own relationship don't seek that feeling externally. Their happiness comes from being together, so they don't need to create an illusion of perfection, as they don't feel like they have anything to prove.
Of course, this doesn't mean denying all existence of your beau online, another study showed that those who update their relationship status on Facebook were more committed than those who don't.
More: The secret to happy relationships is simpler than you think
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