This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Fainite Auguste. Find her on Instagram at @ceilingdancing. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Zillenials grew up on YouTube vlogs, Twitter, and people’s Snapchat/Instagram stories, not knowing that it wasn’t right to have almost twenty-four-hour access to people’s private lives. Now it’s just the new normal, gone are the days of diary entries detailing your crushes and secrets between friends.
Couples have become characters for entertainment, and for us to form some sort of parasocial relationship.
What is an Internet Couple?
An internet couple consists of two people who solely make content about their relationship. An internet couple consists of two people who solely make content about their relationship; Chronicling their love story in only a positive light. Through a variety of videos, photos, and trends the internet couple shares glimpses into their shared experiences, milestones, and the overall positivity that defines their romantic journey. This content creation serves not only as a form of ego boost for the couple but also as a source of inspiration and entertainment for their followers on the other side of the screen.
It only takes one viral TikTok for someone to start dedicating their account to their romantic relationships. And we are all guilty of either consuming or producing relationship-related content. There are a hundred new TikTok audios a week that are flooded with couples showing how in love they are. However, the lines between authenticity and performance are getting blurrier by the day. People prop up their phones, add a slow romantic song, and pretend like the camera is not there. Usually, the content creators paint a picture of domesticity; cuddling in bed, making dinner together, going on dates.
As weird as it sounds, a connection is made between the audience and the content creator. We forget that we are strangers, a phone on a tripod, and start to feel like a friend.
If people don’t know you’re in love, are you really?
Even the casual content creator feels pressured to document every moment for public consumption has become so ingrained in us. There have been numerous times when I have been with my partner and wondered if I should be taking photos and videos to post on my Instagram story later. I’ve even sat in silence next to a friend while hanging out as we both post on our Instagram stories the activity we just did. It makes you wonder if we are only experiencing things so other people can see them. The answer is complicated.
People want the attention, the likes, and comments exclaiming how cute of a couple they look; there is an active increase in dopamine when we see the number of views and like count increase. It becomes addictive, and we start to forget the consequences of letting complete strangers into our lives.
The Inevitable Breakup and Breakdown
What once was a cute idea became sponsorships, posting schedules, and a parasocial relationship between you and your fans. The relationship no longer exists and is just a brand especially when there are relationship issues. It becomes nearly impossible to have a normal relationship experience when every outing is for someone else’s viewing pleasure.
Some people have even gone as far as to pretend to be together to avoid the public backlash of a breakup. If the relationship doesn’t deteriorate under the pressure, people will go farther into your life and past. The popular TikTok Couple, Lunden, and Olivia had most of the app in the palm of their hands. They were an aesthetic, wealthy queer couple, who seemed down to Earth. Only a few hours after the two got married in September, racist tweets from the couple were blasted all over TikTok. They released a public apology but the damage was done, people, myself included unfollowed the couple.
Do you follow any influencer couples on TikTok? Have you posted your significant other on social media? How have you managed to keep your privacy in this era of transparency? Let us know!
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