Editing Public display of affection (section)

==Social media==
Expression of a person's feelings towards someone else had previously been limited to written letters, phone calls, or in person. In the modern world, [[social media]] sites such as [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] are growing, with 1.7 billion users on Facebook<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/|title=Facebook Company Statistics – Statistic Brain|date=9 May 2017|website=www.statisticbrain.com|access-date=3 October 2014|archive-date=25 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825041303/https://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/}}</ref> and over half a billion Twitter users.{{as of?|date=September 2023}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/|title=STATS {{!}} Twitter Company Statistics – Statistic Brain|date=September 2016|website=www.statisticbrain.com|access-date=2014-10-03|archive-date=2014-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831121754/http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/}}</ref> Studies on relationships through Facebook found that, when two individuals who are interested in one another both use Facebook regularly, their relationship progresses in different increments than it would without social media. After two people meet and form an interest, one or both individuals will go on to the other person's Facebook page and get information such as [[relationship status]], pictures, and interests. Once a relationship begins, some couples broadcast their relationship with posts, such as pictures and changing the relationship status.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=J.|last2=Warber|first2=K. M.|last3=Makstaller|first3=D. C.|date=2013|title=The role of Facebook in romantic relationship development: An exploration of Knapp's Relational Stage Model|journal=Journal of Social and Personal Relationships|volume=30|issue=6|pages=771–794|doi=10.1177/0265407512468370|s2cid=46280853}}</ref>

How people show their public displays of affection on social media sites can be indicative of relationship security and [[personality]]. Frequent and recent communication with a romantic partner through different forms of social media is an indicator of relational escalation, whereas limited communication has shown to be an indicator of alienation or relational de-escalation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sosik|first1=V. S.|last2=Bazarova|first2=N. N.|date=2014|title=Relational maintenance on social network sites: How Facebook communication predicts relational escalation.|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=35|pages=124–131|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.044|s2cid=206615898 }}</ref> Another study has shown that when someone focuses on relationship status and public displays of affection such as posting about activities with the [[significant other]] or their feelings towards them, that person tends to be more possessive or territorial over their partner.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bowe|first1=G.|date=2010|title=Reading romance: The impact Facebook rituals can have on a romantic relationship.|journal=Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology|volume=1|pages=61–77}}</ref>

A study found female characters on [[prime-time]] television programs are less likely to demonstrate physical affection if they had a larger body type than thinner female characters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Greenberg|first1=B. S.|last2=Eastin|first2=M.|last3=Hofschire|first3=L.|last4=Lachlan|first4=K.|last5=Brownell|first5=K. D.|year=2003|title=Portrayals of overweight and obese individuals on commercial television|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=93|issue=8|pages=1342–1348|citeseerx=10.1.1.530.9981|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.8.1342|pmc=1447967|pmid=12893625}}</ref> Thus, even television producers act in a way as to intentionally limit public displays of affection based on the appearance of their actors, and that might affect viewership based on social disapproval.{{speculation inline|date=September 2023}} Regardless of television portrayals, the frequency and intensity of PDA has a tendency to depend upon the cultural context as well as perceived public perceptions of the couple, including their [[age group]], [[racial composition]], [[sexuality]], and relationship centralized activity on social media.{{fact|date=January 2023}}