As soon as social media came into the scene, relationships got more complicated. A simple "like" on another woman's post can cause hours (or even days) of arguments with your girlfriend.
Surely, you'd want to understand why she grows all huff-and-puffy whenever you hit the thumbs-up button so we decided to consult Dr. Tyler Ong, Doctor of Psychology and Master of Science. He says it has something to do with the security of the relationship, personalities of each partner, and past relational traumas.
The relationship expert further explains that a woman becomes extra tight when she feels like the relationship is already falling apart and wants to save it. "For instance, the more unsteady the relationship becomes, the more hypervigilant a woman would be, becoming very sensitive to the man's attempts to leave and escape from the relationship," Dr. Ong says. Moreover, a like or comment may make her jealous and insecure because she thinks there's more going on between you and a potential rival.
It's also possible that she misinterprets your sociability. "Some personalities are more likely to be 'friendlier' to others of the opposite sex without knowing the implications. These personalities would genuinely be confused when their partners start fuming and screaming at them for alleged infidelities." Luckily, fixing this one is easy: Just show her all your other friends' status updates and photos you've "liked" and commented on. You're really just generous with the likes.
Past traumas can be another factor, Dr. Ong says. For instance: being the third party that caused a break-up. "If a person left his partner for another, the third party would now live in the classic self-sabotaging thought: 'If he left her for me, what would stop him from leaving me for another?'" explains our relationship expert. "And this is a very valid thought. Past experiences of being cheated on or being emotionally abused (in the form of lies and manipulation) also contribute to hypervigilance and control in current relationships."
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