I met my dream guy but then discovered a ‘red flag’ on social media – it’s split opinion, some think I’m being immature

NAVIGATING the world of social media etiquette can be tricky, especially if you’re single.

Instagram has become a way for singletons to attract potential dates and shoot their shot through DMs.

GettyA woman was nervous after finding the Instagram profile of a man she liked[/caption]

GettyShe thought it was strange that he still had photos of his ex girlfriend on display[/caption]

One woman said she was bothered when she saw that a man had photos of his ex on social media—and the internet is divided on whether her worry is warranted.  

Posting to Reddit, she began:  

“I’ve been talking to this guy and recently started following his Instagram.

“Back in 2021 and prior there’s pictures with a girl that was very clearly his girlfriend at the time. The most recent being a trip to Disney they took together and kissing in front of Cinderella’s castle.

“Just wondering why guys do this. I thought you’re supposed to delete your exes from your social media.”

Some Reddit users tried to explain potential reasons for this:

“Most guys won’t admit it but it’s a sort of flex. After all, even if you broke up, you probably were really proud to call them your significant other, so why not be proud to show off your ex?” one person wrote.

Another chalked it up to laziness: “Cutting out all the old photos just seems time consuming and borderline petty. It isn’t really a priority. Especially if they are infrequent posters, their social media pictures are probably an afterthought. A lot of guys just simply don’t put that much thought into our social media.”

A third joked: “It’s evidence that a real human female was capable of tolerating me.”

Others thought the woman’s concern was childish.

One person gave a lengthy reply: “I think deleting pictures off social media for the purpose of appearances to potential/new partners is sort of immature, and if someone raised this as an issue with me, I would be frustrated and think they had insecurity issues.

“The past is the past, and if you trust me, you should trust that I’m leaving the past where it belongs. I’m not going to delete all my old pictures any more than I’m going to take all the physical photos I have with exes and burn them. It is unnecessary.

“They’re memories of a place and time. Partners need to accept each other’s pasts, I think, and not dwell on them.”

Another said the mindset of deleting photos was “ridiculous,” adding: “I’m not going to censor it out or pretend it didn’t happen any more than I’m going to delete an IG post if it doesn’t get enough likes. It’s just a modern-day photo album.”

GettyOne person compared the practice of deleting old posts on Instagram to burning photos, labeling it “immature” and “unnecessary”[/caption]