Anyone who spends time in the digital depths of TikTok is likely to have come across the ‘bird test’ or the ‘strawberry test’ on their For You page – with these relationship trend hashtags claiming 16.8 million and 17.4 million views respectively.

These relationship tests join the ‘forest test’, the ‘moon phase’ test and ‘the Beckham test’ as part of a growing list of practices social media users are using to get a quick read on their partner's compatibility.

The logic applied to the majority of these tests has little to do with science. However, the rationale, while not wholly unfounded, does seem to come predominantly from the collective wisdom of social media.

By way of example, the ‘Beckham test’ was born out of admiration for a scene in Netflix’s Beckham documentary series that captures Victoria and David Beckham dancing together to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ “Islands in the Stream”.

The test sees TikTok users dancing to the 1983 song while awaiting their partner's reactions – to pass the test they must join in without being verbally prompted.

The ‘Beckam test’ is closely related to the evolution of parasocial relationships as netizens use the relationships of their favourite celebrities as a benchmark for their own.

But there is something curious about people’s desire to test their partners in the public sphere with a captive audience of millions.

With Bumble’s 2023 Love Unfiltered Report finding that 27% of the over 1,000 respondents surveyed want someone they are dating to post about them on social media, romantic relationships have gotten a digital upgrade.

In an era of oversharing, relationships have become not just personal connections but curated broadcasts, where intimacy is measured in likes and commitment is displayed in pixels.

But could these relationship trends be doing more harm than good?

Dr Carolina Bandinelli, associate professor in media and creative industries at the University of Warwick, sees these tests as indicative of a desire for relationship efficiency: “I think this is representative of the strive for efficiency in what I called the post-romantic era: an era in which people are seeking ways to make love an effective and efficient business.”

In complex, competitive and overly curated digital environments, it’s no wonder people are using TikTok tests and relationship trends for clicks and likes.

For the most part, though, these trends say very little about the state of people's actual relationships.

Instead, these trends say more about how people are performing online and how modern dating has become a digital minefield to navigate.

As people seek ways to make love an effective and efficient business, for better or worse dating and relationship culture is evolving in step with the digital age.