In recent years, it has become increasingly common for couples to share joint Facebook accounts. While some view this as strange or even unhealthy, there are a variety of reasons why many couples opt to combine their online presence.
Convenience
One of the most straightforward reasons couples create joint Facebook accounts is simply convenience. Maintaining two separate accounts can be time-consuming and duplicative in a relationship where social lives are intertwined. With a shared account, couples don’t have to post everything twice or keep track of multiple logins. They can easily manage all social media from a single account.
Presenting a United Front
For some couples, having a joint account is a way to publicly present a united front. By sharing posts, pictures, and life events, they are able to show family, friends, and colleagues that they are a cohesive team. This can be especially appealing for newlyweds seeking to establish themselves as a married unit or long-term couples who want to reinforce their commitment.
Avoiding Jealousy and Arguments
Joint accounts can help sidestep issues of jealousy that sometimes crop up over social media. Partners who tend to feel envious or slighted when the other interacts with old flames or new acquaintances on Facebook can relax when everything is open and shared. And by discussing what should be posted from a joint account, couples can avoid misunderstandings or heated debates over controversial posts.
Streamlining Shared Responsibilities
Maintaining family, social, and professional connections online can be a lot for one person. For busy couples with children, joint enterprises, or extensive networks, combining accounts makes it easier to share the responsibilities. Each partner can take turns managing communications without losing track of conversations or relationships. And important information is less likely to slip through the cracks.
Reinforcing Intimacy and Honesty
Some couples view a joint Facebook account as a way to reinforce intimacy, honesty, and openness in the relationship. Partners who might hide certain behaviors, conversations, or connections on a private account will be less tempted to do so with full access and transparency. Both parties can see that there is nothing to hide. Of course, this level of sharing requires a high degree of mutual trust.
Prioritizing the Relationship
For couples who struggled with online boundaries in the past, a joint account can demonstrate a prioritization of the relationship over individual needs. Rather than maintain separate spaces, they commit to only presenting themselves as a pair online. This act of unity can help resolve past conflicts over social media use. It also strengthens couple identity and connection.
Co-Parenting
Raising children often motivates the creation of joint accounts. Parents utilize Facebook to share family photos, communicate with other parents, organize activities, and more. Managing this together from one account allows both mother and father to stay up-to-date and involved. It also allows the family to present a unified front publicly.
Staying in Touch with Aging Parents
For couples with aging parents, a shared account ensures that contact is maintained even when one partner becomes busier. Life changes like having kids, switching jobs, or moving can make it hard for one partner to single-handedly sustain connections. With a joint account, the responsibility is shared and the odds of communication dropping off are reduced. This helps aging parents stay informed about their children and grandchildren.
Financial Benefits
In some cases, there may even be financial incentives to creating joint Facebook accounts. Paid advertising and influencer sponsorships often provide higher profits for accounts with more followers and engagement. Partners who combine followers and content creation efforts may be able to monetize their account at a higher level.
Drawbacks of Joint Accounts
Despite the many potential benefits, joint Facebook accounts also come with some inherent drawbacks and risks that couples should carefully consider:
Loss of Individual Identity
Sharing an account can cause partners to lose touch with individual interests, relationships, and forms of expression. Over time, the distinct voices and personalities of each person may fade into one homogenized couple identity.
Feeling Smothered
The increased level of sharing facilitated by joint accounts can begin to feel invasive and smothering. Some partners may feel they have lost the personal freedom and privacy social media can provide when it is individually controlled.
Resentment
When one partner becomes primarily responsible for administering the account, resentment can build, especially if the burden falls consistently on the woman. Differences in values about what should be shared can also lead to frustration.
Risk of Breakup
If the relationship ends, untangling a jointly created online identity can be difficult. Partners must navigate who gets the account, its followers, and its content. This can spur fresh pain and conflict.
Security Issues
Any breaches of the shared account affect both partners. So malicious hacking or password compromises create enhanced vulnerability. Individual accounts segmented by purpose offer more containment if issues arise.
Less Personalization
Facebook’s algorithms learn from individual user behavior to better personalize content and ads. Joint accounts muddy this personalization, potentially resulting in less relevant feeds and suggestions over time.
Best Practices for Couples
If creating a joint account, the following best practices can enhance the benefits while minimizing potential downsides:
| Best Practice | Description |
|---|---|
| Set Clear Guidelines | Discuss expectations for usage, content sharing, interacting with others, and individual vs joint responsibilities. Revisit as needed. |
| Build in Individual Time | Allow each partner occasional solologins to maintain some individual identity and privacy. |
| Create a Shared Vision | Agree on broader social media goals that suit both individuals’ values and the couple’s collective priorities. |
| Take Turns Posting | Rotate regular posting duties to prevent unequal workloads and ensure diverse content. |
| Be Selective Sharing Past Content | Archive or delete some older posts to thoughtfully shape a joint identity from scratch. |
| Use Tools to Limit Conflict | Utilize features like post approval, restricted visibility, or word filters to smoothly navigate areas of disagreement. |
| Check in Regularly | Assess periodically if the arrangement is still working for both parties as needs evolve. |
The Bottom Line
Joint Facebook accounts have become relatively common among today’s couples for a variety of pragmatic and emotional reasons. The convenience, unity, and intimacy they facilitate can strengthen bonds and lighten individual loads. However, potential downsides like loss of privacy, security risks, and relationship conflicts should be weighed carefully as well.
With good communication, compromise, and intentional practices, joint accounts can be an overall positive. But they also aren’t necessary for a strong modern relationship. As with all social media choices, couples must thoughtfully assess what works best for their unique situation.