The modern life of the 21st century teen seems to be surrounded by the use of cell phones. Some people post constantly about every single thing they do, revealing their personal relationships on the internet for all to see.

Licensed therapist Dana Czachorowski of Kindred Counseling Services in New Jersey shares that posting about a romantic relationship regularly may show signs of insecurity in a relationship or even as an individual.

Often times either person in the relationship may be looking for positive attention in the absence of getting reassurance from their partner. Social media may give them reassurance through all the comments and likes they see.

Love on social media also gives people false hope for what real love looks like. Social media posts tend to only scratch the surface of the depth of a relationship rather than show the true nature of it.

When people think of love, they most likely think of being in constant bliss, but others would argue that couples must work through the challenges of a relationship in order to be happy. Sometimes couples may be covering up hidden problems, even though no one would think that anything could possibly be wrong. This is how they portray their relationships on social media.

Relationships can take different forms on social media, one of which is secretive. With this type, it is sometimes forgotten that the relationship even exists because the social media presence is practically nonexistent.

People who post irregularly or not at all may want their relationship to be private. Privacy can be a good thing, but that doesn’t mean that posting on social media about a relationship is shameful.

According to junior Tanner Hickson, “[Posting] sometimes can be a little excessive, but if you’re showing things like vacations, it can be cool to see people face those experiences together.”

He also mentions that if he were in a relationship, he would try to only post on special occasions.

Then there’s the couple that only posts on momentous occasions. They post on every anniversary or on a really thoughtful date. This can be a sign of a healthy relationship. Occasional posting about things that matter to those in the relationship shows that the couple values their time together and doesn’t feel the need to prove their feelings to the world.

And there’s the couple that posts excessively. This makes it seem like they have to prove their love to the world.

Freshman Delaney Burns said, “I think all couples are cute, but I don’t think there is a need to post all the time if everyone already knows you’re together.” All these posts become overkill and are unnecessary for a relationship.

Freshman Toni Hagen said, “We only see the good part of relationships in the media not the reality of them.”  

Relationships are so much more than a post on Instagram or a Snapchat story.

“Happily ever after” can be achieved without a heavy social media presence, because what matters to a relationship is what happens between the couple, not between them and their audience.