DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend of two years, “Rick,” is addicted to social media — mainly the women on there. I’m not on any of his social media, and it seems like he acts like he’s single there. If he’s not at work, he is at home, but always on his phone.
Rick pays more attention to Facebook than he does to me. There are more than 2,000 women on his FB, and he follows thousands on his TikTok. He likes and “hearts” their pictures and even comments. He sees nothing wrong with it because he’s home with me and not physically in contact with them. This has been our only problem the whole time we have been together. When I express my feelings about it, he tells me I’m overreacting and that it’s “just social media.”
I told Rick I feel like he’s cheating in a way because he is devoting his attention to other females that he could be giving me. It’s like he needs constant attention, even if it’s innocent. It makes me feel like I’m not enough for him, that he’s no longer interested in me and he’s looking for the next gal to move on to.
I feel like I have to compete with these women online. His TikTok is mainly women dancing half-naked. I can be literally right next to him in bed, but he would rather look at them. Other than this addiction, Rick is an amazing man. Please help. — COMPETING IN OHIO
DEAR COMPETING: Rick may be amazing, but he is also absent. He may be next to you physically, but if his attention is directed to the dancing girls on screen, you could freeze to death and he wouldn’t notice. In a way, in fact, you are freezing because your love life has been put on ice. Unless Rick is willing to find things he can do with you rather than feed his addiction, you really should find a partner who is available.