View source for Public display of affection

{{short description|Acts of physical intimacy in the view of others}}
{{Redirect|Public affection|the band formerly known as Public Affection|Live (band)}}
{{refimprove|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Princess Madeleine of Sweden 21 2013.jpg|thumb|Wedding kiss: [[Princess Madeleine]] of Sweden and [[Christopher O'Neill]] kiss each other after their wedding, 2013]]
{{Close relationships}}
{{Love sidebar}}
'''Public displays of affection''' ('''PDA''') are acts of [[physical intimacy]] in the view of others. What is considered to be an acceptable display of [[affection]] varies with respect to culture and context.

Some organizations have rules limiting or prohibiting public displays of affection. Displays of affection in a public place, such as the street, are more likely to be objected to, than similar practices in a private place with only people from a similar cultural background present.

==Worldwide==
=== China ===
Historically, Chinese culture has regarded the overwhelming majority of physical contact between opposite sexes as unacceptable. The earliest iconic record of such view is ''[https://ctext.org/mengzi/li-lou-i?searchu=%E6%B7%B3%E4%BA%8E%E9%AB%A1%E6%9B%B0%EF%BC%9A%E2%80%9C%E7%94%B7%E5%A5%B3%E6%8E%88%E5%8F%97%E4%B8%8D%E8%A6%AA%EF%BC%8C%E7%A6%AE%E8%88%87%EF%BC%9F Mencius: Li Lou I]'' ([https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%AD%9F%E5%AD%90/%E9%9B%A2%E5%A9%81%E4%B8%8A 孟子 · 離婁上], written in the [[Warring States period|Warring States Period]]), in which [[Mencius]] ({{lang-zh|孟子}}), a Confucian scholar and philosopher, states that it is "etiquette that males and females shall not allow their hands to touch in giving or receiving anything" ({{lang-zh|男女授受不親}}),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mengzi: Li Lou I - 淳于髡曰：「男女授受不親，禮與？ - Chinese Text Project |url=https://ctext.org/mengzi/li-lou-i?searchu=%E6%B7%B3%E4%BA%8E%E9%AB%A1%E6%9B%B0%EF%BC%9A%E2%80%9C%E7%94%B7%E5%A5%B3%E6%8E%88%E5%8F%97%E4%B8%8D%E8%A6%AA%EF%BC%8C%E7%A6%AE%E8%88%87%EF%BC%9F |access-date=18 June 2019 |website=ctext.org}}</ref> a view that is still prevalent today.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/%E5%AD%9F%E5%AD%90/%E9%9B%A2%E5%A9%81%E4%B8%8A|title=孟子/離婁上 - 維基文庫，自由的圖書館|website=zh.wikisource.org|access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> Younger generations in more developed parts of China are less afraid of displaying their affections towards their partners in public (partially affected by the emergence of Western culture). It is common to see males and females holding hands or wearing coordinating outfits in urbanized cities, with some commentators suggesting "mass availability of condoms and hyper-sexualized advertisements" as the cause for China's increasing acceptance of PDA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://china.davidson.edu/blog/chinas-public-display-of-affection/|title=China's Public Display of Affection|website=china.davidson.edu|access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref> However, traditional ideals still have a strong influence on social norms of relatively remote regions.

In the first few decades of the 21st century, Chinese [[netizen]]s coined the expression {{lang|zh|秀恩爱}} ({{lang-zh|p=xiù ēn'ài|l=to show off love and affection}}) for public display of affection. The neologism quickly popularized and gained the connotation of "being lovey-dovey to piss off single people." According to a 2004 research by Weiyi Zhang, a researcher from [[Fudan University]], the dissemination of PDA culture in China is largely ascribed to an ultramodern desire to gain public recognition and reality confirmation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cdmd.cnki.com.cn/Article/CDMD-10246-1015426762.htm|title=影像传播与亲密关系：社交网络秀恩爱仪式研究--《复旦大学》2014年硕士论文|website=cdmd.cnki.com.cn|access-date=18 June 2019}}</ref>

Mothers from the [[Manchu people|Manchu]] minority ethnic group, as only researched in the 1900s in [[Aigun]] of Northern [[Manchuria]] where the researcher [[S. M. Shirokogoroff]] personally believed the Manchu element were "purer" than those of Southern Manchuria and Peking (now Beijing),<ref>{{cite journal|last = Laufer|first = B.|date = 1924|title = Book Reviews|jstor = 661399|journal = American Anthropologist|volume = 26| issue  = 4|pages = 540–543| quote = The author's researches were made at Aigun in northern Manchuria where the Manchu element is preserved in a purer form and less influenced by Chinese than in southern Manchuria and Peking.| doi  = 10.1525/aa.1924.26.4.02a00100|doi-access = free}}</ref> used to show affection for their children by performing [[fellatio]] on their male babies, placing the penis in their mouths and stimulating it, while they regarded public kissing with revulsion.<ref>{{cite book | last=Shirokogorov | first=Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich | title=Social Organization of the Manchus: A Study of the Manchu Clan Organization | year=1924 | publisher=Royal Asiatic Society| page=i, 1–6, 122 }}</ref>

===India===
Public display of affection might be regarded as socially unacceptable in [[India]] if it disturbs others or creates nuisance. Same-sex physical contact is allowed. Under [[section 294 of the Indian Penal Code]], causing annoyance to others through "obscene acts" is a criminal offence with a punishment of imprisonment up to three months or a fine, or both.<ref>{{cite web |title=Criminal Law - Indian Penal Code,1860 - Section 294 - Obscene acts and songs |url=http://www.indianlawcases.com/Act-Indian.Penal.Code,1860-1742 |website=Indian Law Cases |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105073053/http://www.indianlawcases.com/Act-Indian.Penal.Code,1860-1742 |archive-date=5 January 2018}}</ref> For example, in 2007, when actor [[Richard Gere]] kissed [[Shilpa Shetty]] in an AIDS awareness event in New Delhi, a warrant for his arrest was issued by an Indian court, which was overturned by a higher court. However, the [[Supreme Court of India]] on various occasions have said that kissing or hugging between adults in public is legal.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/change-laws-according-to-change-in-society/articleshow/64011340.cms|title = 'Change laws according to change in society' &#124; Kolkata News - Times of India|website = [[The Times of India]]| date=3 May 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/richard-gere-kissing-incident-love-affair-with-akshay-kumar-raj-kundra-pornography-case-5-times-shilpa-shetty-made-headlines/photostory/84829695.cms|title=Shilpa Shetty: Richard Gere kissing incident, love affair with Akshay Kumar, Raj Kundra pornography case: 5 times Shilpa Shetty made headlines|website=[[The Times of India]]|date=29 July 2021}}</ref> In 2009, the far-right group [[Sri Ram Sena]] physically attacked couples celebrating [[Valentine's Day]] in [[Mangalore]], stating that it goes against Indian culture.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/4447238/Hindu-extremists-will-attack-Valentines-Day-couples.html | work=Telegraph, UK | title=Hindu extremists 'will attack Valentine's Day couples' |  first=Ben| last=Farmer| date=3 February 2009 | access-date=16 October 2010 | location=London}}</ref> In the state of [[Kerala]], a public kissing display named [[2014 Kiss of Love protest|Kiss of Love]] was held in November 2014 in protest against [[Moral police|moral policing]].<ref name=Toix1>{{cite news|last1=B|first1=Viju|title='Kiss of love' movement: They came, dared the mob, did it|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Kiss-of-love-movement-They-came-dared-the-mob-did-it/articleshow/45016955.cms|access-date=3 November 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>

===Middle East===
{{Verification|section|date=April 2025}}
Middle Eastern countries such as [[Iraq]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Jordan]] and [[Egypt]] are predominantly Muslim cultures. Although public displays of affection generally do not fit the local culture and customs, it varies even among these countries.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Decency laws do not allow public displays of affection. Penalties can be severe based on the action in different countries.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

For example, travelers to [[Dubai]] have been given jail sentences for kissing in public. In 2009 a British couple caught publicly kissing in Dubai were sentenced to deportation following a three-month prison sentence.<ref name=":0" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2025}} An unmarried Indian couple, who were in a taxi, were sentenced to one year in prison for hugging and kissing.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://thriftytraveling.com/going-to-dubai-better-know-the-law/|website=Thrifty Traveling|title=Going to Dubai? Better Know the LAWS |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140626085809/https://thriftytraveling.com/going-to-dubai-better-know-the-law |archive-date=26 June 2014}}</ref> The taxi driver drove the couple directly to a police station.<ref name=":0" /> Kissing is considered "an offence to public decency".{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

=== Western world===
[[File:Man and woman hugging at beach.jpg|thumb|A couple hugging at a beach in the United States]]{{Needs expansion|date=April 2025}}
In most of the [[Western world]], such as [[Western Europe]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Canada]], the [[United States]], and [[Latin America]], it is very common to see people holding hands, hugging and sometimes kissing in public.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kiss & Tell: A couple's guide to PDA around the world |url=https://stowawaymag.byu.edu/kiss-tell-a-couples-guide-to-pda-around-the-world |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610212756/https://stowawaymag.byu.edu/kiss-tell-a-couples-guide-to-pda-around-the-world |archive-date=10 June 2023 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref> It is not usually socially acceptable to be overly explicit, such as engaging in sexual activities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Displays of Affection Abroad (PDA) - Expat Guide Asia |url=http://www.expatguideasia.com/public-displays-affection-pda |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524131242/http://www.expatguideasia.com/public-displays-affection-pda |archive-date=24 May 2017 |access-date=10 October 2018 |website=Expat Guide Asia |url-status=usurped |quote=That said, no-one’s going to arrest you if you’re kissing or snuggling your partner in public; likewise, hand-holding, a casual arm round the waist and the occasional cheeky bum squeeze aren’t going to get you in trouble. Most people will even tolerate the exuberant (if sick-making) lovey-dovey touchiness of some couples, especially if they’re young and obviously smitten – which sets us apart from many cultures in the world in which romantic love is either not expressed in public, or expressed in very different ways.}}</ref>

== Impact of religion ==
{{Verification|section|date=April 2025}}
[[Religiosity]] is an important factor that influences how romantic relationships develop.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bearman |first1=P. S. |last2=Bruckner |first2=H. |date=2001 |title=Promising the Future: Virginity Pledges and First Intercourse |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=106 |issue=4 |pages=859–912 |doi=10.1086/320295 |s2cid=142684938}}</ref> Higher levels of religiosity are not directly related to the number of partners reported by the respondents{{Which|date=April 2025}}. However, religious respondents report lower levels of intimate contact with their partners.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Religiosity limits the level of expression of affection in general.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Also, religion is related to more conservative values that may{{According to whom|date=April 2025}} have a global effect on all levels of PDA by younger participants. 

In many regions of the world, religion drives the cultural view on PDA{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} and this sometimes culminates into proscription based on religious rules. Examples of such are [[sharia law]], Catholic and Evangelical [[virginity pledge]]s, Anabaptist [[plain people]], Methodist [[outward holiness]], Quaker [[testimony of simplicity]], [[Latter-day Saint]] [[Law of chastity]] and Judaic [[Tzniut]]. The conservative Islamic schools of thought, especially [[Salafism]]-oriented ones, forbid public displays of affection.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Etzioni |first1=Amitai |title=Hot Spots |date=2012 |page=152}}</ref>

== Adolescent==
[[File:Couple at the Pantheon in Rome.jpg|thumb|A young couple indulging in public in Rome]]
Relationships outside the family become increasingly important during adolescence. Although several studies of basic social processes have been conducted by sociologists,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Adolescent Society: The Social Life of the Teenager and its Impact on Education.|last1=Coleman|first1=J. S.|date=1961|publisher=Greenwood|location=Westport, CT}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Waller|first1=W.|year=1937|title=The rating and dating complex|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=2|issue=5|pages=727–734|doi=10.2307/2083825|jstor=2083825}}</ref> much of the research and theorizing about adolescent relationships has been carried out by developmental psychologists. Much more research has been done in the area of specific adolescent behaviors, which has shown that these behaviors are predicted well by relationship variables to include the display of affection.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal|last1=Giordano|first1=P. C.|last2=Cernkovich|first2=S. A.|last3=Holland|first3=D.|date=2003|title=Changes in friendship relationships over the life course: Implications for desistance from crime|journal=Criminology|volume=41|issue=2|pages=293–328|doi=10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb00989.x}}</ref>
 
Affection or intimacy references a pattern of conduct within relationships that includes subjective assessments of attachment. This pattern of conduct is a part of a larger constellation of factors that contributes to an adolescent's development of a non-parental relationship. Sociologists have explored the more general terrain of gender relations, although several of the key studies focus on preadolescence and early adolescence.<ref>{{cite book|title=Peer Power: Preadolescent Culture and Identity.|last1=Adler|first1=P. A.|last2=Adler|first2=P.|date=1998|publisher=Rutgers University|location=New Brunswick, NJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=School Talk: Gender and Adolescent Culture.|last1=Eder|first1=D.|last2=Evans|first2=C. C.|last3=Parker|first3=S.|date=1995|publisher=Rutgers University|location=New Brunswick, NJ}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite journal|last1=Merten|first1=D. E.|date=1996|title=Going-with: the role of a social form in early romance|journal=Journal of Contemporary Ethnography|volume=24|issue=4|pages=462–484|doi=10.1177/089124196024004004|s2cid=144845466}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite journal|last1=Simon|first1=R. W.|last2=Eder|first2=D.|last3=Evans|first3=C.|date=1992|title=The development of feeling norms underlying romantic love among adolescent females|journal=Social Psychology Quarterly|volume=55|issue=1|pages=29–46|doi=10.2307/2786684|jstor=2786684}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Thorne|first1=B.|last2=Luria|first2=Z.|date=1986|title=. Sexuality and gender in children's daily worlds|journal=Social Problems|volume=33|issue=3|pages=176–190|doi=10.1525/sp.1986.33.3.03a00020}}</ref> Their work highlights the degree to which features of these early relations, and even intense personal feelings such as being in love, are socially constructed. Adolescents' conceptions about and conduct within these relationships are heavily influenced by interaction and communication with others.<ref name="auto" /> Specific rules emerge (e.g., one should always be in love, it is wrong to date more than one person) and gossip or other social sanctions serve as important sources of informal social control around these rules.<ref name="ReferenceB" />
 
Research moves into the early adolescent period when youths are old enough to say they are [[going steady]] and is useful in actually characterizing the nature of these relationships. These liaisons are described as highly superficial and based on unrealistic idealised expectations. Furthermore, the desire of adolescents to put on a good "front" inhibits the development of intimacy. Going steady is a limiting factor on the adolescent social ritual.<ref name="ReferenceC" />

This table<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vaquera|first1=E.|last2=Kao|first2=G.|date=2005|title=Private and Public Displays of Affection Among Interracial and Intra-Racial Adolescent Couples|journal=Social Science Quarterly|volume=86|issue=2|pages=484–508|doi=10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00314.x}}</ref> below shows the quality and context of displays of affection in American adolescence among intra-racial couples:
 
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! Behavior !! Percentage
|-
| Held hands|| 89.90
|-
| Said to others they were a couple|| 85.76
|-
| Went out together alone|| 78.00
|-
| Went out together in a group|| 78.40
|-
| Met partner's parents|| 75.91
|-
| Gave partner a present|| 72.08
|-
| Received present from partner|| 76.25
|-
| Told partner that they loved them|| 82.05
|-
| Partner said that they loved them|| 79.69
|-
| They thought of themselves as a couple|| 90.88
|-
| Kissed|| 91.56
|-
| Touched under clothing or with no clothes on|| 62.78
|-
| Touched each other's genitals|| 53.68
|-
| Had sexual intercourse|| 42.40

|}

Boys and girls begin the process of relating to one another, the transition is much easier for adolescent males, who essentially transport their dominant interaction styles (derived from peer interactions) into this new relationship form with the opposite sex. Public displays of affection may facilitate the demonstration of this dominant interaction style transference in a socially acceptable way.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Maccoby|first1=E.|date=1990|title=Gender and relationships: a developmental account|journal=American Psychologist|volume=45|issue=4|pages=513–520|doi=10.1037/0003-066x.45.4.513|pmid=2186679}}</ref>

Experimental research on communication processes observed in same- and mixed-gender groups to support this idea. Although behavior observed in cross-gender task groups is relevant, intimate dyadic relationships and task groups are not equivalent social contexts. Thus, an alternative hypothesis is that boys, who have less practice than their female counterparts with PDA (by virtue of their peer group experiences), must make a larger developmental leap as they move into the heterosexual arena. For example, examining the messages students write one another in high-school yearbooks,<ref>{{cite book|title=Sociological Studies of Children and Youth|last1=Giordano|first1=P. C.|last2=Longmore|first2=M. A.|last3=Manning|first3=W. D.|date=2001|publisher=Elsevier|location=New York, NY|pages=111–139}}</ref> there were marked differences between boys' discourse directed towards friends (e.g., "you're a lousy wrestler…") and that directed towards romantic partners (e.g., "you are very beautiful in so many ways, it would take me a lifetime to express them in words…"). In contrast, young girls' use of language in messages to close friends and boyfriends is more similar in form and content. To the degree that the romantic context provides their only opportunity to express themselves and, more broadly, to relate in this intimate fashion, young males are more dependent on these relations than female adolescents, who have close friends for intimate talk and social support. This uniqueness figures into the [[aetiology]] of more negative and sometimes gendered relational dynamics that also emerge in connection with romantic involvements stalking, intrusive control efforts, violence, and the like.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hagan|first1=J.|last2=Foster|first2=H.|date=2001|title=Youth violence and the end of adolescence|journal=American Sociological Review|volume=66|issue=6|pages=874–899|citeseerx=10.1.1.515.3673|doi=10.2307/3088877|jstor=3088877}}</ref>

==Same-sex==
{{See also|Societal attitudes toward homosexuality}}
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Public displays of affection between individuals of the same [[sex]] may or may not suggest [[homosexuality]] depending on the cultural context. For example, in many [[African cultures]] it is socially acceptable for people of the same sex to participate in public displays of affection,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ag0uduy5bYEC&q=homosexual+display+of+affection&pg=PA221|title=Twins in African and Diaspora Cultures: Double Trouble, Twice Blessed|last=Peek|first=Philip M.|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-253-22307-4|page=221}}</ref> whereas in other countries such as the [[United States]] and [[Portugal]], it is considered{{By whom|date=April 2025}} to be indicative of homosexuality. Public displays of affection tend to be determined largely by culture, which greatly influences perceptions{{By whom|date=April 2025}} of same-sex PDA.{{fact|date=January 2023}}

In the contemporary Western society, attitudes towards same-sex public displays of affection vary across cities much like they vary across countries. In populations where the majority of individuals have high cultural values and are more accommodating, same-[[sex]] or same-[[gender]] public displays of affection are more likely to occur.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gaines |first1=S. O. |date=2005 |title=Cultural Value Orientations, Internalized Homophobia, and Accommodation in Romantic Relationships |url=http://dare.ubvu.vu.nl/bitstream/1871/17366/2/Gaines%20Journal%20of%20Homosexuality%2050%202005%20u.pdf |journal=Journal of Homosexuality |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=97–117 |doi=10.1300/j082v50n01_05 |pmid=16368666 |s2cid=18723729 |hdl=1871/17366}}</ref>

Intolerance for homosexual PDA is commonplace in large swathes of society in many different cultures. For instance, in Portugal, [[LGBT]] individuals only act in ways that contend contemporary ideals{{Which|date=April 2025}} and political/economic agendas.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} Homosexual individuals in Portugal are less likely to partake in public displays of affection because their society is extremely critical of the act. They believe that by behaving according to what society deems appropriate, (e.g., only opposite-sex couples should partake in acts of public displays of affection), they are protecting themselves from being categorized as abnormal, odd, or deviant.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=de Oliveira|first1=J. M.|last2=Costa|first2=C. G.|last3=Nogueira|first3=C.|date=2013|title=The Workings of Homonormativity: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Discourses on Discrimination and Public Displays of Affections in Portugal|journal=Journal of Homosexuality|volume=60|issue=10|pages=1475–1493|doi=10.1080/00918369.2013.819221|pmid=24059969|s2cid=6744382}}</ref> Although same-sex marriage has been legal in Portugal since June 2010 (see [[Same-sex marriage in Portugal]]), LGBT people still refrain from public displays of affection for the most part.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}

In a [[Colorado]] high school, two [[yearbook]] staff resigned after they were informed that they could not print the relationship page because it had a photo of two females holding hands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/colorado-high-school-controversy-over-gay-pda/vGXNY/|title=Colorado High School Controversy|access-date=3 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006082732/http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/colorado-high-school-controversy-over-gay-pda/vGXNY/|archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> A spokesman for the [[New York City]] Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project declared in 2007 that "people are still verbally harassed and physically attacked daily for engaging in simple displays of affection in public. Everything changes the minute we kiss".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/fashion/18affection.html?pagewanted=all|title=A Kiss Too Far?|last=Trebay|first=Guy|date=18 February 2007|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==Social media==
Expression of a person's feelings towards someone else had previously been limited to written letters, phone calls, or in person. In the modern world, [[social media]] sites such as [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] are growing, with 1.7 billion users on Facebook<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/|title=Facebook Company Statistics – Statistic Brain|date=9 May 2017|website=www.statisticbrain.com|access-date=3 October 2014|archive-date=25 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825041303/https://www.statisticbrain.com/facebook-statistics/}}</ref> and over half a billion Twitter users.{{as of?|date=September 2023}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/|title=STATS {{!}} Twitter Company Statistics – Statistic Brain|date=September 2016|website=www.statisticbrain.com|access-date=2014-10-03|archive-date=2014-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140831121754/http://www.statisticbrain.com/twitter-statistics/}}</ref> Studies on relationships through Facebook found that, when two individuals who are interested in one another both use Facebook regularly, their relationship progresses in different increments than it would without social media. After two people meet and form an interest, one or both individuals will go on to the other person's Facebook page and get information such as [[relationship status]], pictures, and interests. Once a relationship begins, some couples broadcast their relationship with posts, such as pictures and changing the relationship status.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fox|first1=J.|last2=Warber|first2=K. M.|last3=Makstaller|first3=D. C.|date=2013|title=The role of Facebook in romantic relationship development: An exploration of Knapp's Relational Stage Model|journal=Journal of Social and Personal Relationships|volume=30|issue=6|pages=771–794|doi=10.1177/0265407512468370|s2cid=46280853}}</ref>

How people show their public displays of affection on social media sites can be indicative of relationship security and [[personality]]. Frequent and recent communication with a romantic partner through different forms of social media is an indicator of relational escalation, whereas limited communication has shown to be an indicator of alienation or relational de-escalation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sosik|first1=V. S.|last2=Bazarova|first2=N. N.|date=2014|title=Relational maintenance on social network sites: How Facebook communication predicts relational escalation.|journal=Computers in Human Behavior|volume=35|pages=124–131|doi=10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.044|s2cid=206615898 }}</ref> Another study has shown that when someone focuses on relationship status and public displays of affection such as posting about activities with the [[significant other]] or their feelings towards them, that person tends to be more possessive or territorial over their partner.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bowe|first1=G.|date=2010|title=Reading romance: The impact Facebook rituals can have on a romantic relationship.|journal=Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology|volume=1|pages=61–77}}</ref>

A study found female characters on [[prime-time]] television programs are less likely to demonstrate physical affection if they had a larger body type than thinner female characters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Greenberg|first1=B. S.|last2=Eastin|first2=M.|last3=Hofschire|first3=L.|last4=Lachlan|first4=K.|last5=Brownell|first5=K. D.|year=2003|title=Portrayals of overweight and obese individuals on commercial television|journal=American Journal of Public Health|volume=93|issue=8|pages=1342–1348|citeseerx=10.1.1.530.9981|doi=10.2105/ajph.93.8.1342|pmc=1447967|pmid=12893625}}</ref> Thus, even television producers act in a way as to intentionally limit public displays of affection based on the appearance of their actors, and that might affect viewership based on social disapproval.{{speculation inline|date=September 2023}} Regardless of television portrayals, the frequency and intensity of PDA has a tendency to depend upon the cultural context as well as perceived public perceptions of the couple, including their [[age group]], [[racial composition]], [[sexuality]], and relationship centralized activity on social media.{{fact|date=January 2023}}

==Effects on romantic relationships==
[[File:Bruno Gagliasso e Giovana Ewnbank 002.jpg|thumb|upright|Brazilian actors [[Bruno Gagliasso]] and [[Giovanna Ewbank]], who are married, kiss and hug each other publicly while dancing, 2010.]]

Studies have found physical affection to be associated with positive outcomes in romantic relationships. For instance, it has been related to the formation of attachment bonds and psychological intimacy.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Diamond|first1=L. M.|date=2000|title=Are friends as good as lovers? Attachment, physical affection, and effects on cardiovascular arousal in young women's closest relationships|journal=Dissertation Abstracts International, Section B the Sciences and Engineering|volume=60|page=4272}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mackey|first1=R. A.|last2=Diemer|first2=M. A.|last3=O'Brien|first3=B. A.|date=2000|title=Psychological intimacy in the lasting relationships of heterosexual and same-gender couples|journal=Sex Roles|volume=43|issue=3/4|pages=201–227|doi=10.1023/A:1007028930658|s2cid=142528528}}</ref> Physical affection has been categorized into seven different types including [[holding hands]], [[cuddling]]/holding, backrubs/massages, [[caressing]]/[[wikt:stroking|stroking]], kissing the face and cheek, close [[hugging|hug]], and kissing on the lips.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal|last1=Gulledge|first1=A. K.|last2=Gulledge|first2=M. H.|last3=Stahmann|first3=R. F.|title=Romantic physical affection types and relationship satisfaction|journal=The American Journal of Family Therapy|date=2003|volume=31|issue=4|pages=233–242|doi=10.1080/01926180390201936|s2cid=145484896}}</ref> Five of these behaviors, with the exception of caressing/stroking and holding hands, have been positively associated with relationship and partner satisfaction.

==See also==

*[[Friendship]]
*[[Indecent exposure]]
*[[Interpersonal relationship]]
*[[Intimacy]]
*[[Intimate relationship]]
*[[Norm (sociology)]]
*[[Platonic love]]
*[[Public sex]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Public display of affection}}
[[Category:Interpersonal attraction]]
[[Category:Intimate relationships]]
[[Category:Kissing]]
[[Category:Public sphere|Display of affection]]