It's a social psychology concept and it refers to the phenomenon of "I'm part of a couple!" displays on social media: how romantically involved users present their relationships online (e.g, couple photos, couple related relationships status, mentioning partner in social media posts, etc.)

"Dyadic displays"

Certain people are more likely to use romantic status displays than others:
<ul>
<li>People who are very satisfied with or committed to their romantic relationship.</li>
<li>In-love and with jealousy tendencies people.</li>
<li>People with fear of rejection of abandonment.</li>
<li>People that feel insecure about their partner's feeling.</li>
</ul>

Romantic status displays

<ul>
<li>Self-perception: when we're in close relationships, we tend to include our partners in our identity ( we may see them as part of ourselves).</li>
<li>Self-esteem boost: displaying our relationships status makes us feel good about ourselves.</li>
<li>Social protection: we tend to defend our relationships against threats posed by alternative partners and romantic rivals.</li>
</ul>

Why we post couple photos

Posting couple photos and other related social media displays influences other people to see the profile owner as more likable and as more likely to be in a satisfying and committed relationship.

Outside perceptions

<div>
As you scroll through your Facebook news feed, you see it: Your friend has posted a new profile picture. But instead of a picture of just your friend, it's a couple photo - a picture of your friend and their romantic partner.
"Why would someone choose that as their profile picture?" you wonder.
<a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IhivPfwAAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">We are social</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4LI2RO0AAAAJ&amp;hl=en&amp;oi=ao">psychology researchers</a> interested in understanding people's behavior in close relationships and on social media. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219893998">Our research</a> and that of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214549944">other scholars</a> provides insight into why people use these types of "I'm part of a couple!" displays on social media. Choosing profile photos that include their romantic partner, posting their relationship status and mentioning their partner in their updates can all be signs of how people feel in their relationship - and may send an important message to potential rivals. 
<h2>Why display couplehood this way?</h2>
One possible reason, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550612460059">proposed by other scholars</a>, is that these displays accurately represent how many romantically involved people see themselves.
People in close relationships often <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.63.4.596">include their partner in their self-concept</a> - they see their partner as part of themselves. People may display their couplehood on social media, then, because doing so accurately represents how they see themselves: as intertwined with their partner.
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219893998">Our recent survey</a> of 236 romantically involved adult Facebook users supported this idea. We found that people - especially those who are very satisfied with their relationships - use dyadic displays partly because they see their partner as part of who they are.
We also found another, more strategic reason that people perform these displays: They're motivated to protect their relationships from threats that exist on social media. Using Facebook, Twitter and all the rest exposes people to a variety of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0263">things that could potentially harm</a> their relationship, including ex-partners, alternative partners they could start a relationship with and romantic rivals who could attempt to steal their current sweethearts.
Outside of social media, research has shown that committed people engage in a host of behaviors to defend their relationships against threats posed by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.01.011">alternative partners</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0162-3095(88)90010-6">romantic rivals</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023647">Mentioning their partner or relationship</a> is one way people may try to ward off these potential troublemakers.
We found that people who were more motivated to protect their relationships from these kinds of threats were more likely to use dyadic displays. Wanting to keep the good thing they had going was one reason why highly satisfied and committed people were particularly likely to feature their partner on their social media profiles.
Other researchers have found that some people feature their partner and relationship in their social media profiles because having other people know that they are in a relationship <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214549944">gives them a self-esteem boost</a>. This motive to feel good about themselves is one reason why anxiously attached people want their Facebook friends to be able to tell that they are in a relationship - and why avoidantly attached people don't.
Related Articles Around the Web
</div>

Who does this? What we social psychologists call "dyadic displays" are relatively common. In a recent study that we conducted, 29% of romantically involved Facebook users had a "couple" photo as their current profile picture. Seventy percent had a dyadic relationship status posted - such as "In a...

Understand yourself and those around you.

Why people make 'couple photos' their profile pictures, according to psychologists

"Dyadic displays"

Romantic status displays

Why we post couple photos

Outside perceptions

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