Likes, Comments, and Collusion: "Team" Performance and the Authenticity Crisis of Intimate Relationships in the Social Media Field

Wang Jie

School of Political Law, University of Jinan

Abstract：

Social media has reshaped the modes of interaction in intimate relationships, shifting them from private emotional bonds toward public symbolic exhibitions. Drawing on Goffman’s dramaturgical framework, this study focuses on the “relationship team” formed by romantic partners and analyzes the collaborative mechanism through which they manage impressions via likes and comments. The findings reveal that while the “team” constructs an idealized image of intimacy through frontstage performances, garnering social recognition, it simultaneously triggers a rupture between private emotions and public narratives. This crisis manifests as the commodification of emotional experience, the colonization of the private backstage, and the alienation of the criteria for evaluating relationships. The study illuminates how digital media reconfigure the boundaries of intimate relationships, offering a theoretical reference for understanding emotional bonds in the social media age.

Key Words：

dramaturgical theory; intimate relationships; social media; team performance; authenticity crisis