It seems as though at about this time every year, Facebook news feeds are flooded with women showing off their newly endowed engagement bling.? The sour singles muck, the on-the-verge taken men tug their collars, and hopeless romantics melt with exhilaration, nevertheless, everybody clicks ?Like? and wishes the newly engaged couple the best.
Every year the ?Engagement Season? seems to progressively ramp up beginning in the fall, gaining major marriage momentum in the winter, and finally culminating in the spring, but why does this sort of pattern of behavior exist?
Last March, Facebook reported on the romantic (or lack thereof) behavioral patterns of its users.? By looking at the changes in its users' relationship statuses, the study revealed that more people entered into relationships during the winter months while more people explored their single, independent lifestyles come April.
On the surface, it?s easy to point towards an individual?s immediate psychological motivation like the idea that the winter cold air leads to more staying in which yields a yearning for a cuddle buddy, but I believe it is more complex than that.
In the late 1950s, the United States saw unprecedented changes in romantic behavior.? Most notably, the average age of first marriage dropped to its lowest point in history.? Getting hitched at the age of 18, 19, or 20 was completely normal, and not only was it normal, it was sought after.? Consequently, these hasty marriages led to hasty divorces as well, but that?s beside the point.
The culmination of World War II was one social condition that led to this sprint to the chapel, but there was one other social condition that played a major role in this situation, peer approval.? ?Peer approval theory,? a term I?ve decided to coin myself, is one that states, you do as to what you see others are doing and perceive all others are doing.? Case in point: late 1950s 18-year-olds got married because they were seeing their peer equivalents getting married and thus, perceived that all of their peer equivalents were getting married.
This is an idea brought up in studies done by Paula England, Kathleen Bogle, and Beth Bailey, our perceptions of what others are doing are often excessive.? For example, when you see your friends posting on Facebook or tweeting about how ?everyone and their moms? are getting married or having babies, this perception is excessive.? Everybody is not getting married or having babies, for a matter of fact, a modestly small proportion of your cohort may be engaging in this behavior.
Now back to the Facebook engagement announcements.? According to Peer Approval theory, every time somebody reveals to the Facebook world of their engagement, the vast amount of ?Likes? and comments provides social acceptance of the act to all, social pressure to engage in the act for some, and an excessive perception in others that everyone is getting married.
This is why Engagement season exists and persists, it is why year after year Facebook engagement announcements appear at larger rate within your Facebook news feed.? This past year, we saw marriage rates reach historic lows where married individuals are soon to become the minority.? Roughly 50% of adults are married, but as the Facebook engagement announcement gains popularity full steam ahead, I?ll bet that the percentage may increase in the next couple of years.
The influence of social media and increased transparency of the behavior of others is going to be the fuel driving social trends in the near future.? Take it or leave it.
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