The year that has ended has been marked by the breakup of many couples of celebrities. Shakira and Piqué, Risto Mejide and Laura Escanes, Aitana and Miguel Bernadeau, Mario Vargas Llosa and Isabel Preysler… These are just a few examples, but there have been many. Some did not surprise their followers, who claimed to have already seen some signs, while others took everyone by surprise. But do such signs really exist? Can you predict the breakup of a couple only through their social media posts? The truth is that, according to a study published in 2021, yes it can.
Moreover, the authors of that investigation, coming from the University of Austin Texasfound a way to predict it with three months in advance. Even when the members of the couple themselves were still oblivious to the break that was to come.
And it is that, except for imminent infidelity or some similar problem, the breakups are cooked over low heat. Although the two parts of the couple make an effort to pretend that everything is fine and to fix the disagreements, things between them fit each time worse and that can be seen in their way of behaving, without even realizing it. In the case of this study, which in its day was published in PNASthe way of expressing themselves of the users of Reddit. However, it could be extrapolated to other social networks or even to everyday conversations.
Couple breakups that are predicted on the Internet
To carry out this study, its authors analyzed the Reddit conversations of those users who announced their breakups on a subreddit on this topic.
The objective was to see if their way of communicating had changed before, during and after the breakup. And, indeed, it was. They observed that three months before their language began to change when they spoke in other subreddits. Above all, there were modifications in words that we do not pay attention to when we speak: pronouns, prepositions, articles… Apparently, they are meaningless resources, but they can indicate many things.
For example, it was seen that before the breakups these people tended to use more pronouns in the first person, both “I” and “we”. In addition, they showed signs of a increased cognitive processing. This, as explained in ScienceDaily the lead author of the study, Sarah Seraj, refers to signs that someone is carrying a heavy cognitive load. “They are thinking or working on something and they are becoming more self-centered.” It can be applied to any type of emotional problem, but it certainly fits very well in breakups.
Everything is still the same six months later
We already know that the language of these people can change up to three months before the breakups. But what happens next?
In this case, the authors observed that, on average, people continued to use that language for six months later that their relationship ended. However, it could be so much more if they spent a lot of time posting on the breakup subreddit. In other words, letting off steam is good when a relationship ends, but doing it regularly on social networks will do us a lot. more difficult to turn the page.
In the case of all the couples mentioned at the beginning of this article, it has been the media and their followers who have been in charge of influencing the breakup over and over again. For the rest of the anonymous mortals, change topic seems to be a good idea. Of course, if you are in that situation and you feel that you are getting too upset, do not forget ask for help. Sometimes, the end of a relationship can make us believe that everything is collapsing; but, with the right help, the pieces can always be put back together in the end.