Is love related to selfies? Romantic selfie posting behavior and love levels among women and men

•We calculated the amount of romantic selfies on Facebook profiles in men and women.•We examined the correlation between the amount of romantic selfies and love level.•Love level was measured using Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale.•Men's Love Scale scores positively predicted quantity of posted romantic selfies.•Women's Commitment scores positively predicted the quantity of romantic selfies.

Although interest in the selfie phenomenon has recently increased, no studies have yet examined the meaning behind posting romantic selfies. In a study involving a total of 584 men and women, we examined whether the amount of romantic selfies on Facebook profiles may reliably reflect love level in a heterosexual relationship, as evaluated using Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale. We found that men's overall Love Scale scores positively predicted quantity of posted romantic selfies. Additionally, in men, the scores of two out of three subscales-Passion and Commitment-each independently predicted the numbers of romantic selfies. In contrast, women's romantic selfie-posting behavior correlated with only one subscale. Our findings provide the first evidence that the link between love level and romantic selfie-posting behavior is stronger among men than that among women. Therefore, our results may highlight key romantic behavioral differences in online social networking in both sexes.