The Effect Of Social Media On Relationships
17.05.2023
What effect does social media have on relationships? Social networks help us not only communicate with each other but also change the way we communicate. I think you have noticed how much everything has changed in elementary communication between friends and relatives. Everything has become much simpler, distances have shortened, and even unfamiliar people can be liberated in correspondence. It’s too early to say that this is a good or bad phenomenon of social networks that have not yet been studied so well, and messengers, voice messages, and stickers are already stepping on their heels. In general, everything is very difficult. But there is an excellent reason to note how does social media affect relationships. Has trust disappeared? Why follow your soulmate, and why is virtual communication better than real?
How to follow a person?
The reality is that we are all under the hood. How social media ruin relationships? We follow each other, find out, check pages, lists of friends, and the time of the last visit. It seems that you can avoid this by getting rid of pages on social networks. In the same way, you can follow someone from your friends' accounts so as not to arouse suspicion. But what to do next with this information is difficult to understand. However, your significant other may now know a lot more about you than they could have 10 years ago. Thus, relationships on social media become worse, and there is less trust in a couple.
How to have a healthy relationship with social media?
All kinds of services entertain us, helping pass the time and affecting our mood. Yes, what is there even on the psyche? We flip through beautiful photos of acquaintances and stories of celebrities with the thought that something has gone wrong in our lives. Somewhere we took a wrong turn. Someone withdraws into themselves, while others begin to imitate, choosing to seem and not to be.
Still, others are piling on the content of social networks with renewed vigor, developing in themselves toxicity and hatred for everyone. All the negativity is transferred to the environment and loved ones. You probably have acquaintances who now and then condemn other people and take out their anger on them. From all of the above, we can conclude that social media is bad for relationships. But whatever they are, you need to set boundaries. You need to learn to trust your partner and try to keep yourself away from analyzing how many girls your boyfriend likes and why.
Can social media ruin connections?
Excessive fascination with someone else's life, watching it like a TV series, develops a distance between reality and a fairy tale. In a deep, healthy connection, you are not afraid to show vulnerability or imperfection - this is the only way partners build a connection.
But social networks impose other rules: sincerity can be considered a weakness, and the image comes to the fore. The imposed expectations of myself and my partner are so high that people may mistakenly conclude that there is something wrong with my connection.
An additional dangerous moment lies in the risk of jealousy: there is a desire to find out about the subscriptions and likes of your partner: whom he watches, whom he writes to, whose photos attract his attention. The desire to follow, the craving for control - in this case, a way to keep abreast: if something goes wrong, you can prevent the terrible.
In reality, everything works differently: a jealous person is driven by the fear of rejection, which spoils mutual understanding. This is due to unstable self-esteem, as well as the fear of a hidden threat in the form of a more interesting person, which increases self-doubt.
Social media and romantic relationships
Social media has had a big impact on dating. You yourself noticed this, the guys put likes under the photos, and the girls respond in the same way (provided that there is a photo on the page). Then there is a little wait, who will write first? In general, there is no difference. Communication continues as long as the person is interested.
It is for this reason that it will not be difficult to start an unobtrusive conversation that can turn into a connection. That is, social networks simplify the dating process so much that you don’t need to go anywhere or get up from the couch. And with the help of social networks, you can even destroy someone's life or connection. But more on that is below. And such opportunities can be classified as positive effects of social media on relationships.
Negative effects of social media on relationships
A social network is a fairly cramped and cozy world where there is enough space for everyone. In the virtual space, your page is your home. And everything that happens outside of it remains there. On social networks, you can remain neutral or spy on someone. You can meet, but you can lose someone.
According to a study that involved almost 600 Twitter users, the use of services leads to quarrels in connections, and misunderstandings are a direct path to infidelity and breakups. The jealousy between partners increases. Think for yourself: because of social networks; we lose a huge amount of time that could be spent with a loved one. One of the partners feels forgotten, and the information that is posted there may be misinterpreted by him.
And we can agree with this. There were a large number of precedents from real life when everything was fine in a couple, but a “school friend” who appeared on the horizon, added as a friend, became the cause of jealousy and a further break. Social networks simplify the process of meeting and communicating, and then everything depends solely on the partner’s beliefs. Of course, it’s not worth following him and sorting things out - let everything go on as usual.
It is still too early to draw any conclusions about whether services are good or bad for our lives. But one thing can be said: relations between people will no longer be the same.
Problems with social media and relationships
Social media has affected how connections develop and how they sustain themselves.
On the one hand, social networks and technology allow you to establish and maintain connections at a physical distance. On the other hand, they may have "spoiled dating" in the sense that the courtship process can now take place almost entirely over the Internet and reduce the incentive to make commitments. Seeking perfection can make you even less committed, especially when potential flaws or incompatibilities emerge. With other options always readily available over the Internet, it may seem like it's not worth working through a potential roadblock or overlooking a potential flaw to see if there's potential in a connection.
How does social media ruin relationships? With access to unlimited options, one can feel "settled" to designate oneself as being in an exclusive connection. One can also privately juggle multiple connections at the same time, which can make it difficult to pay attention to the connections needed to really assess whether they can develop and become meaningful.
Rotating the connection candidate list can create a false sense of what one person can really provide for another and possibly prevent someone from learning how to have a healthy and fulfilling connection in the future.
Social media effects on relationships
Social media has not only changed how we initiate and maintain connections but also affected our ability to end them and move on with our lives. Text messages and social media make romance easy to avoid and hard to shake at the same time. Ending a connection just doesn't mean what it used to be. Pre-internet, if you broke up with someone and wanted to avoid being reminded of their existence, this could be done quite easily: destroy their photos, change their usual daily routine, move to a new city, etc. Every night, the lives of your ex, future partners, and future children can be viewed in the comfort of your own bedroom. Even if you "block" them, friends of friends who are your friends can lead to unpleasant unexpected "interactions" that can be unsettling and possibly prevent anyone from getting the necessary psychological distance from an ex. Developers come up with ways to limit such possibilities.
Social media in relationships to strengthen ties
If you're trying to get to know someone using social media, remember that to know if you're connected, it's essential to make an effort to get to know someone without being distracted by multiple potential love interests.
Is social media ruining relationships? Remember that it's our flaws that make us interesting, and part of the fun of dating and developing a connection is getting through the hardships and being vulnerable together.
Make sure you save some real-time face-to-face interactions to give yourself the opportunity to experience life from the same perspective and participate in peer-to-peer sharing.
Don't get caught up in FOMO (fear of missing out) or social comparison with your ex's virtual life. It distracts you from moving on with your life and can open up wounds that need to be healed.
Focus on how technology can strengthen your bonds with other people, and be mindful of how it can also distract us from getting what we want: healthy, sustainable connections that make us feel good.
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