{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T05:02:37Z","timestamp":1789534957342,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":80,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behav. Sci.","Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>As neoliberal rationality permeates private life, romantic relationships are increasingly managed as calculated projects rather than spontaneous, autotelic bonds. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines how calculative subjectivity is associated with diminished social flow\u2014the state of dyadic synchrony\u2014within intimate relationships in the context of contemporary societal involution, a state of hyper-competition and intense social comparison. Analyzing data from 402 Chinese digital natives via PLS-SEM, we reveal that calculative subjectivity demonstrates a substantial negative association with social flow, statistically mediated through internalized cognitive rationalities (regret aversion, sunk cost sensitivity, self-monitoring) and external behavioral distractions (partner phubbing). Specifically, the \u201cmarket-in-mind\u201d correlates with a substantial cognitive barrier alongside the physical interference of the \u201cdevice-in-hand.\u201d These findings are theoretically consistent with the philosophical critique regarding the \u201cagony of eros,\u201d suggesting that a prominent barrier to authentic intimacy in the algorithmic age is not merely technological mediation, but the internalized instrumental rationality that colonizes the human mind.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16091649","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T13:05:26Z","timestamp":1789391126000},"page":"1649","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Love as Calculation: The Internalized Rationality of Digital Intimacy and the Erosion of Social Flow"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-7775-7287","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiaxin","family":"Jiang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao 999078, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4749-8419","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Chunli","family":"Ji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao 999078, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6079-9197","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tian","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Gaming and Tourism Studies, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao 999078, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1650-3900","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Erose","family":"Sthapit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Marketing, Retail and Tourism, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester M15 6BH, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"436","DOI":"10.1080\/01463373.2023.2228860","article-title":"Antecedents and consequences of interpersonal electronic surveillance in romantic relationships","volume":"71","author":"Aloia","year":"2023","journal-title":"Communication Quarterly"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"467","DOI":"10.1089\/cyber.2023.0761","article-title":"Association of phubbing behavior and fear of missing out: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"27","author":"Ansari","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Apostolou, M., Constantinidou, L., and Kagialis, A. 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