Social media is a likely cause of confusion in choosing a modern partner

A recent sociological study found that the majority of young adults surveyed said they were confused about their options when it came to dating decisions. Preliminary analysis suggests that more than half of young people experience confusion when choosing a life partner, with women appearing to be more likely to report confusion when choosing a partner than men.

Due to the ubiquity of social media and digital dating in everyday life, people are now exposed to far more potential partners than ever before, but the availability of popular dating apps and the ease of photo enhancement can distort the reality of available lists of dating candidates. .

“Human mate selection is a complicated psychological process that is effectively influenced by many social factors, including appearance, personality and financial status,” says Chayan Munshi, founder and executive director of the Ethophilia Research Foundation in Santiniketan, India.

“Recently, this has been greatly influenced by social media, where constant exposure to sexually stimulating or attractive content creates a certain perception of reality in young people, which ultimately creates confusion when it comes to choosing potential partners.”

The Ethophilia Research Foundation is a behavioral biology and public health research group that recently began investigating how the digitization of society regulates human behavior.

“This project began with an extensive observation of patterns of human behavior regarding mate selection,” says Munshi. “This observational study was followed by direct interactions with the youth population using an open-ended questionnaire.”

Preliminary results of this ongoing project come from a survey of young adults in India, with most respondents aged 18 to 30. Further analysis of the results is underway, with an expanded survey being prepared to include more specific lines of inquiry.

The questionnaire included questions related to choosing a romantic partner, such as “Do you feel confused when choosing a life partner?”, “What are your criteria for choosing a life partner?”, “Are you still looking for other partners if you are already in a stable relationship?” and “Do you want switch to “better option” when choosing a life partner?”

These initial results show that perceptions of potential partner availability may be biased by how people judge their life partner options, even when they are in existing relationships. “For example, impulsivity is prominent and there is a decrease in personal social interactions,” says Munshi. “This reveals confusion as people search for a mating partner and may display complexities in maintaining a relationship.”

Munshi expects this ongoing research to help better understand how mate selection evolves in humans.

“Our hypothesis strongly suggests that the ‘pleasure index’ or ‘adrenaline rush’ of relationships is more important to the younger generation than long-term stability,” he says. “It is alarming that impulsivity or confusion can lead to instability in interpersonal behavior, which actually affects normal social behavior in humans.”

“The pattern is now pronounced enough to suggest that this could change the social norms of mate-choice behavior in young people, which could have a significant effect on the brain’s behavioral circuitry,” says Munshi. “In the long run, this may ultimately change the basic protocol of evolutionary mating strategies.”

This research is presented at the annual conference of the Society for Experimental Biology in Prague from July 2 to 5, 2024.