Posted 5/2/13 by Brinton Parker in Relationships & Sex

Are You Overly Attached? Students Confess How CLINGY They Really Are

We’ve all seen the popular online meme, “Overly Attached Girlfriend.” While most of the time you probably laugh at the jokes you see online, perhaps a few of these strike too close to home. Are you an OAG? We surveyed 65 real college-aged respondents to see how common it is to be an overly attached partner in the college dating scene. The results may surprise you!

Creepy Curiosity

Regarding sneaking into a significant other’s Facebook messages, text archives, or other methods of private communication, the results were shocking. 58% of people who took the survey admitted to occasionally breaching their partner’s privacy in this manner, and 9.5% admitted to doing it often. Another 9.5% confess to having done this type of creeping in past relationships. 8% of the people in the surveyed group have never done this type of snooping into their partner’s business, but they have considered it. The final 15% who took the survey stuck to the assertion that they have never crept, nor considered creeping, into their boyfriend or girlfriend’s messages.

Feeling Text-y

Jhaymesisviphotography via Compfight

The results regarding their partner’s swiftness in responding to text messages were less surprising. When asked “How quickly do you expect your significant other to respond to your texts or calls before you grow frustrated or suspicious?” the answers were as follows:

Right away: 2%
Within 10 minutes: 8%
Within half an hour: 10%
Within the hour: 26%
The same day: 40%
If they don’t answer, it won’t bother me: 14%

Friendly Fire

When he saw the question on the survey, LTCL founder Alex Cruz responded, “Ah, the old opposite-sex friends question.” Of course, his response is to be expected; discomfort about a close friendship with somebody who could potentially be a threat to the relationship is a classic issue when it comes to relationships. Only 14% people out of the survey group responded that they’re never jealous of their SO’s opposite-sex friends. Another 14% claimed that they’re very rarely jealous. A whopping 54% of people said that if their boyfriend or girlfriend paid specific attention to a friend, they’d become suspicious or jealous; another 15% indicated that they are uncomfortable in regards to a specific few of their SO’s friends. Finally, 11% of the survey group answered that they are jealous often, or even all the time.

Time for a Checkup

Attachment sometimes lasts beyond the duration of one’s relationship. Thanks to social networking, it’s easy to keep tabs on what an ex has been up to, who they’re dating, and if they are still fawning over you. When asked about the frequency of one’s “check-ups” on their former significant others, 37% of respondents answered that they do it every couple of months. 18.5% check more than once a month, 9% check once per year, and the remaining 35.5% claim that they’ve never lurked an ex’s social networks.

Also on LTCL:

Jimmy Tatro: Breaking Up with ‘Overly Attached Girlfriend’
Are Facebook and Texting Changing College Relationships?

History Lesson

Nearly 40% of people who took the survey don’t believe knowing a significant other’s romantic past is essential, whereas more than 60% deem this knowledge to be extremely important.

Knowledge is Key

liz west via Compfight

In every sitcom, the same plot is played out: a key character forgets an important date (e.g. an anniversary) and has to jump through hoops to right the wrong of their bad memory. We asked what specific details that a person expects their partner to remember, and received these results: (Participants were allowed to select multiple answers)

Favorite flower: 29%
Favorite color: 38%
Favorite holiday: 20%
Favorite food: 49%
Birthday: 100% of people who took the survey believed this to be vital
Half birthday: 2%
Your clothing sizes: 18%
Monthly anniversary: 12%
Yearly anniversary: 86%

In the end…

So, what do you make of these results? Are there more overly attached partners in the dating scene than we let ourselves believe, or is the OAG meme simply an exaggeration of the things we all do and feel in relationships?

Brinton Parker

Brinton is a second year student at the University of California, Davis and is double-majoring in English and Design with a minor in Textiles & Clothing. Her passion (at the risk of sounding extremely cliché) is fashion, as well as writing, cooking, fitness, and movies. Pursuing a career in magazine journalism is the next check on her to-do list.