WHEN popular television personality Awal Ashaari shared a photograph of him and his actress wife, Scha Alyahya, in a romantic pose and accompanied by a lovey-dovey caption — “Love of my life” — on Instagram recently, it received close to 47,000 likes.
Soon after came another lip-locking photograph, this time around by equally popular celebrity couple Rozita Che Wan and Zain Saidin. It received some 12,500 likes. Okay, not so equally, judging by the likes.
Both photographs were similar in concept, where they featured the magnificent open sea as the backdrop. Awal and Scha’s had the Langkawi seafront, while Che Ta and Zain gave a little exotic twist to theirs — Mykonos Island.
Is there a “P to the D to the A” competition going on that we are not aware of?
Be that as it may, while I feel that both photographs are picturesque well-taken photographs, a work of art of sorts, but photos of two people (married or otherwise) locking lips and more should be kept under lock and key and be shared between them alone, or among close friends if need be.
Not to sound like a bitter hag, but they should probably cool it. Come on people, some things should be kept behind closed doors. Call me old-fashioned, but I think cheek kisses can turn out to be more adorable photos.
While some of the celebs’ followers leave loving messages and wish them well, again, there were some who felt the photos were nauseating. Some people were uncomfortable with the couples’ public display of affection. (Yeah you guessed it! It’s PDA!)
Their discomfort prompted them to leave nasty remarks that cannot be printed here for obvious reasons other than being culturally blasphemous. You could be slapped by your mother for uttering those words.
Yes, since they are celebrities, they must think that the world wants to view every nauseatingly perfect aspect of their relationships. They must think that photographs of them together in an intimate setting are proof that they are in successful relationships.
Sure, photos of smiling, embracing couples are common these days, especially on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many others that I simply cannot catch up with. (My tween and preteen daughter have more social media accounts than I have.)
Most of such pictures are usually accompanied by a cheesy quote about being in love or staying together forever; Lionel Richie-sque. The more creative of the lot would add some effects and fake hearts around the picture for good measure of course, and oh, don’t forget the hashtags like #4eva and #ayunk. I made up the last one.
As a social media user, when you are confronted with these images of someone else’s “happy relationship”, do you go “Aww, that’s so sweet” or “Oh gosh, enough already”?
For some, it made them question whether these couples are genuinely happy.
Well, to be fair, I believe the two celebrity couples are contented... for real. And it’s awesome to see that they are still very much in love after all these years.
I remember reading somewhere that based on a research, couples who share their love on social media are more satisfied than those who prefer to keep their intimate relationships private.
These findings do not mean that those who don’t highlight their relationship on social media are necessarily unhappy, but in general, showing off a relationship on social media is a habit that happier couples are more likely to engage in.
Oh well, to each his own.
I suppose you could present your relationship online by having affectionate photos with simple loving captions, but overdoing it could turn people off.
I guess sometimes while we all know that they are happy, not many will like it when they show it.
If you are one of those who find the photos sickeningly sweet, and the updates too personal or inappropriate for social media, or that these couples are trying too hard to show off, quickly scroll away and fast.
In real life, it’s easy to pay no heed to unnecessary PDA. For example, when you see a couple getting it on, you should just walk up to them and suggest they get a room... Hmm, no, that doesn’t really happen much here. Well, you can quickly just turn your head and get on with your life. But on social media, it is a completely different situation.
My point is, there is no need to be socially overbearing in posting couple photos every day, even if it is being done unwittingly by yourselves. Okay, here’s an exception: I think what would make extreme PDA photos socially acceptable are those taken on your wedding day.
So, just chill out and just embrace your partner’s endearing habits, whims and fancies. Love your partner, post the occasional photo and be happy. If you still don’t agree with me on PDA, consider this: Hypothetically (yes, I do not want my readers to suffer heartbreaks), when couples go their separate ways, it won’t be too exhausting if you choose to delete all your “together-gether” photos. What do you think?
The writer is a passionista with a keen interest in showbiz and pop culture (online shopping included!). And oh, she is also the Entertainment Editor