What is 'single posting' and is your partner doing it?

When was the last time your partner posted a photo of you on their social media? If it's been a while then you may need to worry they're 'single posting' - a coin termed by Allison Claire for The Dirt.

Single posting is when somebody in a relationship posts on social media as though they are single. This means the may be posting about their social life often, or maybe even personal life, but excluding the fact that they have a partner.

"We know what attention-seeking behavior looks like online: attractive selfies, posts about or from nights out, posts about wanting some celebrity to do something unmentionable to you," Claire wrote.

"Single people commonly use social media to project the image that they are fun, hot, worthy of romantic consideration."

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Gen Z is known for keeping their personal life offline more so than Millennials so it's no surprise younger people may want to keep their romantic life private.

But there's a blurred line between keeping your relationship offline and projecting yourself as single.

Claire suggests that people who consistently post intimate details of their life but exclude their relationship are the type to look out for.

"If you’re being conspiratorial, you can say that people post single because they want other people to believe they are single, because they no longer want to be in their current relationship," Claire speculated.

There is an entire online discourse about what it means to post on social media when single.

Often, this means someone is posting skin-revealing photos more than usual, they're sharing stories of them out partying more, they respond to DMs from interested people, essentially- they're looking for attention.

It also excludes the 'soft launch' - or subtly posting about your significant other without revealing their identity.

Although it's unfair to make assumptions about a person's life by their social media, it's hard to deny it is a reflection of someone's life.

Some people may keep their relationship offline to keep things professional, some people use their single social media presence for monetization.

Either way, it's always best practice to ask someone about their relationship status before pursuing them.

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