Consumption of Public Display of Affection(PDA) Content and Its Impact on PersonalHappiness and Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract

While abundant research focuses on the perspective of people who create or post Public Display of Affection (PDA) content, little attention is given to the impact of PDA on other social media users who are consuming these contents. According to the social comparison theory, these types of content shown in social media may induce feelings of envy and dissatisfaction in one’s romantic relationship. Therefore, this study focused on determining the impact of PDA consumption on personal happiness and relationship satisfaction. A quantitative research design was used where 73 participants were recruited. Of the 73, 34 of them are in a relationship while the remaining 39 are single. The inclusion criteria are: (1) Malaysian, (2) aged 19 to 39 and (3) has at least one social media account. Frequency analysis revealed that a vast majority of social media users have moderate to high level of consumption of PDA content. However, a deeper crosstab analysis showed that most single people tend to have high levels of PDA consumption while most people who are in a relationship tend to have moderate levels of PDA consumption. Simple linear regression revealed no significant impact of PDA consumption on both personal happiness and relationship satisfaction. This study shows there is a high consumption of PDA content in social media yet no impact on personal happiness and relationship satisfaction is proven. This could indicate that social media users are having healthier emotional regulations while strolling through the contents available on social media.