1 Trending: If Trump Wants To Reduce Beef Prices, He Should Help Struggling Farmers Grow Their Herds

2 Trending: This One Insane Graph Explains The Lindsay Clancy Defender Dynamic

3 Trending: The New York Times Is Nakedly Lying About Jennifer Hegseth, And It’s Pathetic

4 Trending: Rep. Harriet Hageman: Here’s How Trump Can Close America’s Birth Tourism Loopholes

Falling Madly In Love With Someone On Social Media Is For Cowards

Fueled by the addictive power of social media, limerence — represents yet one more false god in the American quest for love and fulfillment.

Share Article on Facebook

Share Article on Twitter

Share Article on Truth Social

Share Article via Email

Maybe you’ve heard about limerence, a trending phenomenon on social media that describes the mental state of being madly infatuated with someone on the internet. Limerence is gaining media coverage. 

“Why is everyone talking about limerence?” asked a May article in Salon. Psychology Today ran a story on it in March. It was the subject of an article at the Washington Post in March explaining that “social media is fueling an intense form of romantic obsession.” The May movie Obsession generated much online commentary because of its connection to limerence.

Fueled by the addictive power of social media, limerence — a term that originates with psychologist Dorothy Tennov, who described it as “being in love” but of an all-absorbing character — represents yet one more false god in the American quest for love and fulfillment. As many have observed, limerence engenders self-destructive behaviors. However, I would argue that beyond simply offering an unrealistic, self-absorbed take on romantic love, because of our digital age it has become the safe option and reflects the overly cautious character of contemporary romance.

Social Media Makes Limerence Even More Addictive 

Although most of us can remember a time, often in adolescence, when we had a certain unhealthy, obsessive quality with a romantic interest, social media has dramatically changed this  for everyone’s dating scene, not just for teenagers. 

“A lot of young people effectively use Instagram as a dating app and as the main arena where social positioning happens,” former Meta software engineer Matt Hannan recently told the Washington Post. 

Yet neuroscientist Tom Bellamy told WaPo his research found half of adults experience limerence. It sends stronger dopamine signals and weakens the executive functioning of the brain, responsible for regulating........

© The Federalist