According to a survey, 37% of men and 32% of women kissed their partners in public “even before entering college.” This public display of affection, also known as PDA, may be good for the people in the relationship, but it can create an embarrassing situation for most people who are caught reluctantly witnessing it.
We have discovered what makes the PDA so polarizing and why it is best left behind a closed door.
It Makes The Couple Seem Unlikable
Research has tested how the public reacts to overly affectionate partners, including PDAs and things like sharing a lot of personal details about their relationship.
In general, people thought that these couples seemed very passionate and happy, but they were “perceived as unlikable and psychologically unhealthy.”
It’s Not Conveying The Right Message
In one study, researchers wanted to find out why some people feel the need to interact with their partners in front of others.
Interestingly, “the motivations of the participants included improving their image, provoking jealousy or envy, or exhibiting the fact that they are in a relationship.”
Furthermore, the study also shows that men reported an increase in their reputation as a result of PDA, while women felt the opposite.
It Might Also Hurt Some People
Psychologists suggest that being all loving in front of a reluctant audience can make them insecure. Keith E. Davis, a social psychologist at the University of South Carolina who examined friendships and romantic relationships, says: “Affective behavior confronts some people with the unsettling reality that they are alone.”
At the same time, David E. Klimek, a clinical psychologist who wrote on intimacy and marriage, believes that our discomfort when viewing PDA comes from our childhood: “Children tend to get angry when they see Mom and Dad hugging and kissing.
Children walking away from this scene, or trying to separate it, because it is so loaded, just as many adults walk away when they see lovers kissing openly.
It Makes Other People Want To Vanish Into Thin Air
Witnessing an inappropriate hug or kiss in public can make you feel like you’re seeing something you shouldn’t be.
It is virtually impossible to act naturally in these situations and most people immediately flee the scene. Otherwise, they would like to be elsewhere, rather than close to the loving partner.
Psychologist Charles T. Hill explained that people can feel compelled to become an audience for someone’s random make-out session, and it feels very uncomfortable.
Worse still, imagine how people in the service industry feel when they try, for example, to get an application from a partner who cannot be separated from the other. The main point is: be aware of your surroundings and circumstances.
What do you think of public displays of affection? When do you think it is really appropriate to kiss your partner in public?
Preview photo credit MEGA/Mega Agency/East News
