THE ADVERSITIES OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON RELATIONSHIPS.

Following the advent of social media in modern world today, a lot has changed in many aspects of our lives. Our relationship life too is not spared from the effects of social media. In the context of romantic relationships, there's no doubt social media has positive impacts but certainly not as much as its negative impacts.

And so, in response to the @hive-learners community contest (Week 16: Episode 02) on the topic: SOCIAL MEDIA ON RELATIONSHIPS, and in my view, I believe social media has done more harm than good on relationships. Allow me air my opinion by sharing some common adverse effects of social media on relationships:

SOURCE

• IT BREEDS UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.

It has now become a trend for couples to put up their private life and relationship on social media, either for fun or to build their “influencer” brand. However, viewers, followers and fans of these couple celebs become stirred up by what they see, forgetting that not all relationships are the same and there's no such thing as a perfect relationship. Most times, these couple celebs fail to show the ugly sides of their relationships, sparing only the rosy parts and thereby distorting the image of love and relationship in the mind of youths, who then begin to adopt the mindset of: “If these couple's relationship can be like this, mine must be like that too.”
Unfortunately, this mindset has often led to misunderstandings and incompatibility between partners. Couples want to try out everything they see others do online in their relationships. Need I mention the sexual aspect? Anyway, the point is, many relationships have failed because their partners don't meet up to certain unrealistic expectations of theirs.

SOURCE

• LOSS OF INTIMACY.

Over a period of time, face to face interaction has diminished more than ever and the excessive use of social media (Social media addiction) has fast become a norm between couples. Instead of reconnecting with each other at the end of the day, they could both just be engrossed in their phones, checking their social media pages, rather than checking up on their partner. They fail to make quality time for each other, communicate and create solid memories, and this could eventually drain out intimacy and love in the relationship.

SOURCE

• INFIDELITY.

Now this has definitely got to be the worst of all. There's been a lot of cases whereby couples have caught their partners cheating. It is quite easy to start up a conversation with an old friend or a colleague from work on social media and thereafter, these conversations could lead to another thing. At first, it could seem innocent, harmless and unintentional, but the more you talk, the closer you might become. Perhaps, you even end up going out for coffee or lunch and before you know it, you could get involved in a fling. And eventually, you find yourself cheating on your spouse, be it emotionally or sexually. And studies have shown that Facebook plays a major role in modern infidelity.

In conclusion, the list is endless as I can't mention all of them, but with these instances and many more, it's evident social media has adverse effects on relationships which has contributed in aggravating or complicating many relationships of today. Most times, we can't help it. Afterall, social media has come to stay and won't be leaving anytime soon. But the issues could be mitigated by putting relationships and partners first before your social media life. Therefore, before spending hours on social media, rather try to have real-life conversations and bonding with your loved ones.

THANKS FOR READING! ❤️