Is Your Partner Pursuing Romantic Alternatives?

If your answer is ‘yes’ then read on…

Interest in alternatives is a manifestation of low commitment. Researchers have found that social media is used to solicit romantic alternatives, irrespective of one’s relationship status. Romantic partners experiencing low commitment are more likely to send and accept friend requests with romantic interests . Mutual satisfaction, the absence of alternatives, and investments made in the relationship help strengthen commitment.

Some users consider their online friends as romantic alternatives, which can potentially lead to jealousy, surveillance, conflict, loss of trust, envy, social tension, and infidelity. Researchers have also found that exposure to alternatives on social media is directly related to making a romantic comparison with one’s primary partner. Online communications evoke romantic jealousy in the primary relationship.

For Further Reading

Abbasi, I. S. (2018). Falling prey to online romantic alternatives: Evaluating social media alternative partners in committed versus dating relationships. Social Science Computer Review, 37(6), 723–733. doi:10.1177/0894439318793947

Drouin, M., Miller, D. A., & Dibble, J. L. (2014). Ignore your partners’ current Facebook friends; beware the ones they add. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 483–488. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.032

Irum S. Abbasi is an independent post-doctoral researcher currently examining social media behaviors and attitudes towards password sharing in romantic relationships.