Hey, successful women. Did you know that it’s the age of the trophy husband? For real. I don’t know if I should celebrate, or cry about this news…

OK, OK. Let me back up. In theory, this finding isn’t depressing.

Helen Fisher recently conducted a study for Match.com that mined the brains of single people. One of the findings the survey discovered was that men are totally cool with dating successful women. Also: More men — 87 percent — are cool with dating a woman who is “more intellectual, and is better educated than they are.” A recent Atlantic article reported on the findings.

Fisher jokingly calls this the “Clooney Effect.” She coined the phrase after George Clooney got married to Amal Alamuddin, a successful human-rights lawyer.

This study has quite a few holes, though. The Atlantic lists just a few issues with the “Clooney Effect:”

Any psychologist will state that appearance is still the number one factor in bringing two people together, and that it takes more than a singular trait (in this case, intelligence) to create a strong, long-lasting bond. And it’s important to note that these statistics are heteronormative, applying purely to straight couples and not addressing gays and lesbians at all.

Now, none of this (except for the massive study holes) is terrible news. So, why am I so grumpy? Because it is considered news. I know that this topic, and topics like this, have been in the spotlight throughout the past year, but I can’t believe this is something that still has to be reported. Maybe it’s because I’m a feminist killjoy, or maybe it’s because the majority of men I have dated were totally cool with the fact that I have a graduate degree and they do not.

But I do realize that for years (and still currently), many women do run into the “powerful woman” issue when dating. I guess just can’t wait for the day when it’s totally old-hat for blue-collar male workers to marry female CEOs.

What do you think about these findings? Do you know a lot of successful women who have married “down?” Do you hate the term “Trophy Husbands” as much as I do?

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If there’s one thing that my generation knows how to do exceptionally well, it’s breaking up in public. Well, OK, not exactly “in public,” but on social media — we’re the kings and queens of seamlessly transitioning our profiles from “single” to “in a relationship,” and we know how to “delete” our exs from our lives at the click of a button. We’ve made the social media breakup “a thing.”

I have mixed feelings about this, honestly. I’ve been single and in a relationship off and on since I was 16. Sometimes I react to breaking up by deleting all traces of my ex in one tear-filled, wine-induced swoop. I make his family members, friends, annnnnd all of our shared photos go bye-bye. Then, sometimes, I’m like, “hey! We can still be friends – whatevs,” and I keep our digital footprints around.

One thing is certain, though. Regardless of me keeping my ex’s digital life in plain view, I always — always — am more active on social media when I’m single.

Apparently, I’m not the only one exhibiting this type of behavior. Recently, the Atlantic reported that newly single people have a propensity to post more updates in order to look like they’re doing great — scratch that, marvelous, darling — post breakup.

Here’s a bit of data to back that up, via the Atlantic:

“Facebook released data earlier this year that said when people switch their status from indicating any type of relationship to “single,” they immediately swoop into a transient 225 percent increase in the volume of interactions on the site. In those days and weeks (months?) after a relationship ends, it’s also true that the theatrics of our social-media caricatures bend toward an audience of one.”

Then there’s the whole concept of “winning a breakup.” You know, making sure you post just enough photos to your accounts that show you are having a total ball, and not giving a single care about that one person you used to share a bed with.

I don’t know… I’ve never “won” a breakup. I’ve just been through them. And if I look through the history of my photos I tend to post when single vs. in a relationship, not much changes. (AKA I still post 90 percent beagle pics.) So, there’s that.

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