Remember when updating your Facebook relationship status was a huge thing? Well now, it’s all about being Instagram official and who can forget about all the engagement shots in your feed? You can tell a lot about someone’s relationship status by looking at their social media. Now, I know some people like to do a deep dive when doing their pre-date ‘researching’. To the point of being able to tell you the names of their date’s 3^rdcousins etc. Slow your roll. If you are going to have a look, go for a little peek. Just to confirm their status or make sure they’re not problematic. Don’t know what to keep an eye on? Here are 6 social media red flags to watch out for…

• They don’t have any sort of online presence

Now, this has mixed reactions. There are some people who do just hate social media. They either never got into it or they woke up one day and deleted all their accounts. Fair enough. However, when you can’t find anything about them online, it becomes one of the social media red flags. Let’s be honest, even a LinkedIn account will do. As a society, we’re at the point that even employees now check out your social media before deciding, so the absence of you online can come off as suspicious…

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Their singleness is definitely something to be sure of

before you proceed, right?

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• They don’t seem single on their social media

Sad, but true, just because someone is on a dating app doesn’t mean that they’re single. Sometimes, you get a feeling that just makes you feel like you should do a little check. Maybe their relationship status is listed as ‘complicated’, or there are tons of recent pics with the same someone, professing their love in the captions. Their singleness is definitely something to be sure of before you proceed, right?

• They immediately try to move the chat to Snapchat

This is one of the biggest social media red flags in my opinion. If you’ve matched on a dating app and the chat is going well, the next step is exchanging numbers, right? Not for everyone. If someone suggests moving the chat to Snapchat, it’s thought to mean one of two things. They’re either using it to cheat or they just want you to send them pics. Eek!

• They retweet or repost content you don’t support

If they’re following, retweeting or reposting from accounts that have messages that don’t resonate with your views, it’s definitely one of the social media red flags. Whether it’s posts about how blue lives matter, anti-LGBTQ+ content, sexist content or maybe just anti-vaxxer propaganda. If it’s a dealbreaker to you, that’s your decision. You should never feel you have to compromise on these subjects.

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However, if all they have to say is negative, or they’re all over social

media posting unsavoury things about their ex, run!

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• All the tweets or status updates are negative

If everything they’re posting is negative, ask yourself if this is the vibe you really want to add to your life. Sure, we all have bad days and that’s completely normal and understandable. However, if all they have to say is negative, or they’re all over social media posting unsavoury things about their ex, run!

• There’s a heavy vibe of sex on their social media

If all the accounts they’re following seem to be explicit in nature, that’s definitely a massive social media red flag you should take note of.

So, there you have it! 6 social media red flags to watch out for. Remember, while social media can tell you a lot, it can’t tell you everything. Open communication is always your best bet!