Changing Facebook Profile Pictures to Dyadic Photos: Positive Association with Romantic Partners’ Relationship Satisfaction via Perceived Partner Commitment

Abstract Facebook is a prevalent SNS platform used to express satisfaction in a romantic relationship. However, specific functions of Facebook that foster relationship satisfaction and the underlying mechanism of how the Facebook usage is perceived by a partner require further investigation. Relationship awareness, or paying attention to one’s romantic relationship and interaction patterns within a romantic relationship, may be a key determinant of satisfaction in a romantic relationship between Facebook users. Past research focused on the effect of cues that signal relationship awareness to one’s partner during face-to-face interactions. Extending the existing literature, we focused on how a partner perceives relationship awareness cues expressed on Facebook. We found a positive impact of different relationship awareness cues on Facebook on relationship satisfaction and a mediating role of the perception of a partner’s commitment. When imagining a partner’s Facebook page that showed faithful acts such as uploading a dyadic photo and removing a personal photo, participants expected high commitment from a partner, which, in turn, predicted high relationship satisfaction. Our findings offer specific ways to communicate with a romantic partner through Facebook to foster satisfaction in a relationship. We also discuss the importance of highlighting online communication as behavioral cues.