Selena Gomez And Justin Bieber: Just One Of Many Couples On The On-And-Off Epidemic?


Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are just one of ten celebrity pairs who have said they are done with each other, only to be seen getting back together, to borrow a phrase from a Taylor Swift song. Thus reports Hollywood Life, which seems to have unearthed a strange yet growing phenomenon in the American star system. Can it become a Hollywood epidemic soon?

The other couples cited by Hollywood Life are Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, Beyoncé and Jay Z, Rihanna and Chris Brown, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Kylie Jenner and Tyga, Kendall Jenner and Harry Styles, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick, Katy Perry and John Mayer, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green. Of all these couples, Kourtney Kardashian is the only oddball to be associated with two men in the on-and-off saga, namely, Justin Bieber and Scott Disick.

It’s almost as if the couples in question just turn off some kind of a switch, only to turn it back on when it becomes convenient. Convenience may well be one of the factors that make the yo-yo syndrome prevalent among the most popular Hollywood tandems. However, true love and physical attraction cannot be entirely ruled out from the equation.

This is the Tinseltown territory where Swift’s “we are never ever, getting back together” song lyrics do not apply.

We might as well call these partnerships binary or digital by nature, too. After all, a switch is either on or off, or technically speaking, either zero or one. Psychology Today, however, prefers to refer to the phenomenon as cycling. And following the source’s line of reasoning, it looks like the situation that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber are on, along with Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth, and for that matter, the rest of the gang in yo-yo relationships, is not healthy.

Psychologists believe that there is something missing or the quality of a relationship is not good enough that both people who are cycling resort to the type of behavior we are presently seeing in Hollywood today. Thus, from a psychological point of view, factors like strong love and emotions do not play a big role in, say, the Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber tandem. At the same time, doctors warn that cycling carries with it some hidden costs, so consider Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth warned, Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick as well, and so on with the rest of the couples.

Consider, for instance, the amount of energy wasted on something as repetitive as cycling. Someday, psychologists may even be able to attach a caloric value for every instance of on and off relationships. Also, this type of relationship actually occurs more often than in celebrity spheres.

How healthy are on-again/off-again relationships?

Psychology Today replies: not healthy at all. The source cited the energy wasted in doing things over and over by referring to the lyrics of an Alicia Keys song.

“I keep on fallin’ in and out of love with you. Sometimes I love ya, sometimes you make me blue. Sometimes I feel good, at times I feel used. Lovin’ you darlin’ makes me so confused.”

Indeed, the repetitive nature of relationships that cycle resembles the anatomy of a song, if not a broken record. And it doesn’ t matter if it’s a Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, or Miley Cyrus song. Cycling wastes energy, according to psychologists. If so, then this kind of relationship must carry a carbon footprint as well.

“Some evidence suggests that a pattern of separations and reconciliations is toxic to both relationship and personal well-being. The more frequently couples cycle back and forth between being together and being apart, the more their relationships tend to deteriorate to involve negative interactions, less satisfaction, and less commitment.”

In summary, the on-and-off relationship, or what is known in psychology as cycling, definitely carries with it a lot of stress and wasted energy. No wonder there are often emotional reactions from say Selena Gomez or Justin Bieber when asked to comment on the nature of their relationship. And the same goes for the Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth camp. By far, however, the stress has been most pronounced on the part of Jennifer Garner, based on what she has told the press on her travails as Ben Affleck’s wife.

Coming up soon, The Inquisitr looks into the psychosocial aspects of Hollywood love triangles.

[Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]

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