“To the most incredible wife and mother. The strength you have shown over the last year is remarkable. George, Charlotte, Louis and I are so proud of you. Congratulations, Catherine. We love you. W,” Crown Prince William congratulates himtouching, but very personal on the official Instagram account of him and Princess Catherine.
Whether to your own parents, children or partners – public congratulations and declarations of love are very in vogue on social media. Is that still sweet or just too much? Do you really express yours?or affection, or do you simply want to attract attention? I'll try to classify it below.
Public displays of affection: what they mean
In America, public displays of affection are called “PDA.” Behind the abbreviation are the words “public display of affection”,which translates to the public display of affection. This includes, for example, kissing, cuddling and holding hands, whispering something intimate in each other's ears, but also declarations of love on social platforms such as Instagram. This text is about the latter.
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Expressions of love for your partner can be found on almost every major Instagram profile. In addition to personal congratulations to your loved one, those to you are also quite “in”.Whether it's your first or your twelfth birthday, it doesn't matter. The character traits of the child are highlighted (“Your gentleness and strength impress us every day”), how well the offspring does this or that (“You are so smart and creative”) and how incredibly proud you are as parents (“Mom and “Dads are infinitely happy to have you as a child”), is also highlighted at least once. I often read these little texts and am a mixture of touched and irritated by what I read. It's especially irritating because I wonder who these lines were really written for. And even if the addressee can already read, wouldn't it make more sense to address the words directly to the person? This is exactly where the problem begins in my opinion.
To whom public declarations of love on social media are often directed
Sometimes the following happens: I read an exuberant declaration of love from content creator So I compare myself. Of course, this or that content creator can't do anything directly about it, because I am solely responsible for my thoughts, but: It can be assumed that nowadays people are aware that a comparison is taking place on social media. So that you are a kind of role model, especially if you have a larger number of followers. And yes, thatmeasure with yourself.
Anyone who feels like it should make their affection public, don't get me wrong. However, as long as you regularly and exclusively check the flawlessness of your ownI find this problematic on social media (in real life too, by the way). When the perfect family life and the wonderful partnership are being praised today and the day after tomorrow the separation is announced or all the couple photos suddenly disappear from the feed (which is not uncommon), it becomes clear that you see one thing above all on platforms like Instagram : only part of the truth. It makes sense to keep reminding yourself of this when you read line-long, public declarations of love. What it says doesn't have to be wrong, of course I don't want to accuse anyone of that - but it only shows one side. In almost every relationship, be it between parents or parents and children, there are conflicts, but these are often not seen or read about in public.
Confess your love publicly – yes or no?
Should Prince William's words have been formulated as personal congratulations to his wife Princess Catherine? In my opinion not, but the words don't hurt anyone. In my opinion, the text would have been better formulated in such a way that it is not directly addressed to the recipient (after all, what are greeting cards for?!), but perhaps that is also a matter of taste.
Personally, I still think it's best when you direct your affection solely to the person it's aimed at. I would never publicly post very intimate declarations of love that go beyond congratulations. And in general, I think it's better to ask yourself more than not enough in the future why you want to share this or that detail with the public. Do you just want to show your joy or pride or does the message have added value for others? Could you hurt someone by sharing what you plan to do? My daughter turns four at the end of the month and of course she is the most amazing girl in my world. I still only share the birthday wishes from my partner and I to her with her. Handwritten and in the form of a birthday card, of course. So that maybe one day she can actually read what herswished her on her fourth birthday.
