Being in a relationship in 2025 arguably comes with far more potential complications than previous generations experienced. This is largely due to the internet.
Perhaps no form of online content is more tempting than social media. Every scroll can show you an endless array of attractive people in various states of dress. It’s a veritable cornucopia of thirst traps.
This has one woman wondering what is normal online behavior for men in serious relationships. Should he scroll on? Or is it OK to smash that like button?
“There are some men, not all men, who will heart every single post a girl posts on her social media,” fitness TikToker @veragamza_ says in her now-viral video. “Like, why do y’all do that?”
She draws a distinction between different types of content. “I understand if it’s something educational and it resonates with you. I totally get that. But like a selfie? And you’re in a committed relationship?” she says. “I think that’s kind of crossing boundaries.”
Then @veragamza_ poses a question to her followers. “Is it just me? All right, y’all let me know. That’s just been on my mind. Why do y’all do that?” she concludes.
In the caption, @veragamza_ adds, “Serious answers only lol.”
In the comments section, @veragamza_ says she’s simply speaking from her experience as a woman on the internet.
“I’m going off of what men do on my social media,” she writes.
The content creator told BroBible that she thinks that if “a man truly loves his gf or wife he’ll have enough respect for her to not be bothered by other women.”
She adds that she thinks “men are more easily enamored by beauty.”
‘Appreciating Beauty’ Or Creeping On Main?
Her post is exposing vast differences of opinion between what people view as acceptable online behavior.
On one side of the debate there are people who think it’s a harmless little press of a button, a way of telling someone you appreciate their content.
A man who says he’s married argued, “Yeah no it’s cool we are appreciating beauty.”
“Married not buried,” another wrote.
Many of a similar mindset think it’s overly possessive and insecure to police your partner’s likes.
“Folks read too far into things imo. Social media has made ppl more insecure than they normally are, or exposing their insecurities in real time. Just my opinion,” one man said.
Another shared similar sentiments, though he agrees that there is a line. “To me it’s no different than complimenting a woman,” he chimed in. “Doesn’t seem that big of a deal. Comments or DM’s are another story.”
But others have a different view of what’s acceptable social media behavior for someone in a relationship. They argue that hitting that heart button is no different than flirting.
A man who says he’s single commented that he only likes things for attention and said he imagines people in relationships do it for the same reason. Another man took it a step further, writing, “It’s not ok. It is disrespectful to his partner, himself, and his family if he has one.”
Does The Type Of Photo Matter?
This debate has also been raised in various online forums. Over on Reddit, users seem to think the type of photo and who posted it is what matters. Many Redditors argued that a harmless photo posted by a friend is in-bounds, while a thirst trap posted by anyone is off-limits.
While it may be natural to feel a pang of jealousy if your partner likes an attractive person’s social media posts, what should you do about it? Is it worth having a conversation. Or should you just let it go?
As one pointed out, there are far worse things than a heart react.
“I get what you’re saying but I’ll be worried about the workplace or secret dating profiles,” they noted. “The thing with social media is that it’s easy to expose people.”
@veragamza_ Serious answers only lol