In today’s society, people live for technology and social media outlets. It has become the norm for people to have social media accounts and to use them on a regular basis. Most people can’t go more than a few hours without picking up their devices and checking their feeds. Whether it’s tweeting, checking Facebook, uploading photos to Instagram, or looking at stories on Snapchat of frat guys shotgunning beers before the big football game at 11:00 a.m., content is constantly being uploaded. It’s actually a type of addiction if you think aboutit and can make building relationships a bit tricky.
Social media has the ability to paint the perfect relationship, perfect body image, and the perfect life. With apps like Instagram and Facebook where the content is mainly picture-based, photos can be misleading and unrealistic. Viewers typically won’t see any unflattering pictures (unless it’s an embarrassing, happy birthday post) because it has become a goal to receive the most “likes” possible on their pictures. It’s also easy to get wrapped up in wanting that boyfriend who writes cute notes to you before a hard exam, or brings you ice cream and chocolate when it’s that time of the month. Ultimately, relationships have become more complex because of the impossible standards social media has set.
Privacy is a whole different can of worms when it comes to relationships and social media. Note: there is none! Even if you have your privacy settings turned on to where you can accept follower requests, tag requests, etc., there are ways around it! Every girl around the world can vouch for that statement. I have even seen tweets about how “girls know everything” or “we will find out eventually,” so if I had any advice to boys out there, it’s to own up to your mistakes as fast as you can! Because with a click of a button, Sadie can find out where her boyfriend, John, actually was on the night of September 4 at 10:03 p.m. So own up, or prepare for the wrath of your girlfriend when she is discovers you weren’t “hanging with the boys” that night.
With all the negative connotation surrounding social media, it can be used for good, too! Dating websites have been very successful in linking up men and women with similar interests, opinions, and goals. Some might not believe in the power of online dating, but plenty of people have found their soulmate via the Internet. According to statistics gathered by eHarmony, 40 percent of people in America use online dating. Half the people who use online dating are in a successful relationship. Plenty of people rely on the Internet to help them find their special person. In my opinion, it’s one of those “don’t knock it till you try it” situations.
But should people really trust the algorithms that online dating websites follow? Honestly, it depends on personal preference. Take Amy Webb, futurist and author, for example. Just like everyone else in the online dating world, she wanted to find a person who completed her. But, she had an interesting and intricate way of obtaining that. She 
wasn’t satisfied with the people she was being matched with, so she created her own algorithm to score the men she was being matched with. Guys had to score more than a 1500 on her scale in order to get a date with her. But if you don’t want to put in the endless amount of hours to create your own algorithm, dating websites typically make good decisions and suggestions for you on potential matches based on the information users provided.
Realistically, no relationship is perfect, and all relationships take effort to work. It’s not all unicorns and butterflies like social media can make it out to be. We all need to take a step back, forget about chasing that image of a perfect relationship, appreciate what our people do for us and be genuinely thankful for the people that we do have in our lives.
Advertisements Share this:
