Why ‘In a Relationship’ on Facebook Means More Than You Think
Worried about your relationship with your significant other? A quick look at your Facebook profile can tell you a lot about how you’re doing as a couple.
Listing yourself as “in a relationship” with your partner, posting photos of you and your partner together, and posting on your partner’s wall are all signs of a committed relationship, at least among college-age couples, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The study looked at 180 undergraduates who were in romantic relationships and asked them a number of questions about their relationship and looked at their Facebook profiles. Six months later, the researchers returned and asked the students whether they were still in that relationship.
The study results suggest that displaying a public commitment on Facebook, a highly public platform, is correlated with more enduring relationships between couples. These public displays of devotion actually help cement relationships as they develop over time.
However, not all couple-related activity on Facebook is good for a relationship. The number of mutual friends each couple had and the number of partner-initiated wall posts were negatively correlated with relationship commitment. In addition, joint affiliations, such as attending the same events or being in the same Facebook groups, was not associated with commitment.
As annoying as couples who broadcast their relationship all over Facebook might be, they’re more likely to be in it for the long haul. So consider blocking them if you’ve had enough of the online PDA, because as they study suggest, there’s probably going to be a whole lot more of it.
Budget ‘Chaos’ Threatens Army Reset: Retired General
One thing is standing in the way of a major ongoing effort to reset the U.S. Army, writes Carter Ham, a retired four-star general who’s now president and CEO of the Association of the U.S. Army, at Defense One. “The problem is the Washington, D.C., budget quagmire.”
The issue is more than just a matter of funding levels. “What hurts more is the erratic, unreliable and downright harmful federal budget process,” which has forced the Army to plan based on stopgap “continuing resolutions” instead of approved budgets for nine straight fiscal years. “A slowdown in combat-related training, production delays in new weapons, and a postponement of increases in Army troop levels are among the immediate impacts of operating under this ill-named continuing resolution. It’s not continuous and it certainly doesn’t display resolve.”
Pentagon Pushes for Faster F-35 Cost Cuts
The Pentagon has taken over cost-cutting efforts for the F-35 program, which has been plagued by years of cost overruns, production delays and technical problems. The Defense Department rejected a cost-saving plan proposed by contractors including principal manufacturer Lockheed Martin as being too slow to produce substantial savings. Instead, it gave Lockheed a $60 million contract “to pursue further efficiency measures, with more oversight of how the money was spent,” The Wall Street Journal’s Doug Cameron reports. F-35 program leaders “say they want more of the cost-saving effort directed at smaller suppliers that haven’t been pressured enough.” The Pentagon plans to cut the price of the F-35A model used by the Air Force from a recent $94.6 million each to around $80 million by 2020. Overall, the price of developing the F-35 has climbed above $400 billion, with the total program cost now projected at $1.53 trillion. (Wall Street Journal, CNBC)
Chart of the Day - October 6, 2017
Financial performance for insurers in the individual Obamacare markets is improving, driven by higher premiums and slower growth in claims. This suggests that the market is stabilizing. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Quote of the Day - October 5, 2017
"The train's left the station, and if you're a budget hawk, you were left at the station." -- Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.