Social Net Users’ Behavior as a Forming Factor of Social Representations about Spouse

Abstract

The present research traced the connection between the behavior of social net users and 1) the content they view devoted to romantic relationships and 2) their social representations about their prospective spouse. The survey involved 525 respondents and an authentic questionnaire of three blocks. The first block of questions was based on a content analysis of young people's essays and social net entries. It featured social representations about romantic relationships and marriage. The second block was connected with socio-demographic characteristics. The third block analyzed the use of social networks and other communication channels. The study revealed a link between one’s behavior in social networks and social representations about a romantic partner, married life, and family relations. Users that frequently viewed social media posts about relationships between men and women were not marriage-oriented and did not seek long-term romantic relationships. They viewed romantic relationships as an exciting adventure and they entertained a possibility of having different partners at different life stages. Such elements in social representations may lead to a more tolerant attitude to such phenomena as unregistered marriage, divorce, and serial monogamy.