Truly we cannot undermine the effects of social media on relationships, whether casual relationship or intimate.
Social media has a lot to contribute to how we view things and how we react to our partner’s behaviors, in essence, it shapens our perspective of love and commitment.
Read below the eleven most impactful ways in which social affects our relationship.
- Communication: Enables constant communication and connection between partners. Imagine being in a long distance relationship without WhatsApp, Skype or any social media platforms to keep you connected daily?Gosh! Life would be boring and maybe depressing. Because your feelings for a particular person may grow awry out of waiting. So, not only has social media being of help when it comes to being in touch with our loved ones but it has also saved us from emotional breakdown.
- Infidelity: Creates opportunities for emotional or physical infidelity through online interactions.
- Misinterpretation: Messages can be misinterpreted, leading to misunderstandings. Although nothing can beat physical communication because facial expression is seen, hence, social media has a short coming in this aspect. Still, written words are sometimes misinterpreted.
- Social Pressure: Pressure to display a perfect relationship can strain couples.
- Jealousy and Insecurity: Comparing one’s relationship to others can trigger jealousy or insecurity, because you get to see other people’s relationships and might be thinking that yours is not up to standard hence you start comparing and leaving yourself in a state of jealousy.
- Privacy Concerns: Sharing personal information can raise privacy and security issues. Yes, in order to keep the boat afloat, we sometimes share private information with our partners, hoping that it will mean nothing, but we forget that some privacy shared can raise negative concerns in the mind of our partner.
- Digital Footprint: Past posts and interactions can affect relationship perceptions and judgements.
- Distraction: Excessive use can distract partners from spending quality time together. Instead of spending time in person with our partners we tend to spend more time on social media.
- Lack of Face-to-Face Interaction: Overuse may reduce face-to-face communication and intimacy.
- Conflict Amplification: Disagreements aired publicly can escalate conflicts. Yes, we sometimes post our disagreement online, hoping to get help from others, but people’s feedback makes argument between couples to escalate.
- Exposure to Ex-Partners: Seeing updates from ex-partners can cause emotional distress.
It is important to know that social media has both negative and positive impacts on relationships, and what happens whether good or bad are all determined by us and the hours we spent assimilating information on social media platforms.
Read also: https://jennysoul.com/how-to-improve-communication-skills-in-a-relationship/
