Charlotte has been with her partner for two years. The 20-year-old says she chooses to not post her boyfriend on social media for a few reasons.
On an aesthetic level, she says they don’t have many pictures together she would “consider Instagrammable”.
But beyond this, she believes a relationship should be “more private than friendship”.
She continues: “I also feel like if I posted [my relationship], it would be to say, ‘Look at me and my perfect relationship’, which, unfortunately, isn’t the case.”
Athera, not her real name, also prefers privacy. The 21-year-old says a lot of her friends are the same and reference the “evil eye” as a reason for not posting their partners.
“Evil eye” is a supernatural belief in a curse transmitted through a malicious glare, usually one inspired by envy.
“I wouldn’t post him to prevent someone accidentally putting their jealousy, even if it’s unintentional and subconscious, as evil eye onto my relationship,” says Athera.