In many generations today, technology has become a vital part of how we create relationships. With the ease of social media communication, many relationships have started because of online dating or through direct messaging rather than meeting in person or in a class.
With the use of social media, it has become so much easier to judge a person based off of what they post, how many likes or views they are getting, or even by how many followers they have. Whether you like or dislike what you see based off of someone else’s posts, you already have an idea of whether or not you would be compatible. Social media can also deter one partner away from the other because of jealousy, chatting with others, or posting something that hurts the other.
On the other hand, social media can also accelerate our relationships. You can meet someone through dating sites, Twitter, and Instagram that you might not have met without social media. Today, many relationships start off online and blossom from where they first started off.
While social media can help begin relationships, it may be hard to meet in real life, especially because of distance, jobs, or family. Typically, the first date may be the first time either of them can physically see each other that is not through a phone or a computer. People may also be hesitant to finally meet in person because they fear the person on the other end may not be who they say they are.
With the use of technology, the LGBT community can find comfort and support from others through social media. The article states that approximately half the LGBT community has met someone they truly confide in from online interactions. The Internet is a great place for people to create relationship from common traits.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/17/technology-changing-relationships_n_5884042.html
This was a great post! I tend to agree that there are both good and bad sides to social media and how it affects relationships, but I personally would say there’s more bad to it than good. First impressions, generally made in person, can be negatively affected by, as you stated, the amount of likes someone got on a post, and I’m not really sure how I feel about that. That could deter someone from personal, meaningful interactions with people. The issue is that in this day and age, I don’t really think that there’s an easy fix to the problem. Social media is perhaps the easiest way to keep up with friends, and it’s certainly easy to get left behind without it. Additionally, as you mentioned, people may not people that they would have met online if it weren’t for social media. Personally, some of my best friends and longest relationships have been with people that I first saw or met through social media. It’s certainly a problem without an easy fix.
I liked your post and I also believe there are many ups and downs to how technology affects our relationships. Personally, I would not like to start a conversation with someone I was interested in online; I would like the traditional way of talking in person first and getting to know them before looking at their social media accounts. I feel like sometimes, looking at their accounts is a good indicator of whether they seem like a good fit, but a lot of times I think people actually change their accounts to make them seem better or more attractive, and this could be different from who they really are. I know many girls who seem obsessed with how their Instagram looks and only post certain photos at certain times for the most amount of likes–it drives me crazy. And if that is the case, then how would you ever be able to tell if someone’s profile is a true representation of themselves without meeting them first. Also, like you said, jealousy can arise very quickly. In this article I read, it said the more selfies one posts on a platform like Instagram, the higher likelihood of relationship conflicts and jealousy. I see this happening all the time between friends and their boyfriends. Likes and comments from others of the opposite sex seem to start arguments. Here is the link to the article I found interesting:
https://greatist.com/live/social-media-and-relationships
I enjoyed reading your post, I feel that it is an interesting point and can be met with some debate and tension. Although I think that social media and technology can help with so much in today’s world and can make our lives a lot easier, I don’t think that it’s positively affecting our relationships. For example, our likes and posts on social media can be very skewed and can make us come off to some people as someone we really aren’t in person. You can make yourself into anyone you want to be online, including how you look with various filters and editing software. I think that this creates an unhealthy relationship and can lead to unfulfilled expectations in a relationship. In a world of “swipe rights” I think we need to take a step back and leave dating to the old fashion way, striking up a conversation in person first.
This post was very well written and included many great points! I love technology especially social media platforms which allow user connectivity and make communication more simple. However, online dating sites have never been my interest and I think they can sometimes be deceiving. Online profiles are created to attract other users when in fact that is not what one should look for when searching for an intimate relationship. It is believed there must be physical communication and interaction in order to find out if a person is compatible and I have to agree with this statement. When reading this article from CNN this fact specifically stood out to me, “some online communication is a good thing, the researchers say, but too much of it can skew expectations and ultimately sabotage a match” (CNN). After speaking with friends who have used instant messaging and social media to spark a relationship, most say that if communication online occurs before meeting a person, it is initially more awkward and uncomfortable than if not. Compatibility is not the goal a user should be searching for when using these online platforms and most users do not take this into account. Overall, technology should be used to quickly connect and set up planned in person meetings! Here is a link to the article where I found some interesting facts, check it out! https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/health/online-dating-pitfalls/index.html
Technology is changing everything in today’s world. I think that people meeting people online that they can confide in and trust is an interesting concept. However, I do not think it is a great way to get to truly know someone. You mentioned how some people do not want to meet the people they talk to online because they are worried that it may be someone different and for me, this is the scariest thing about meeting people online. There is such a high risk that it is someone else and at times it can be dangerous. I wish that this was addressed a bit more in depth in your post because it is a major problem. Especially with kids in the world today. For one, kids can use this technology to get personal information about someone and then expose that information to the world. It can be humiliating for any person. Second, it is dangerous. If a kid wants to meet someone they met online and they lie to their parents about going somewhere to meet this person, they can be abducted or killed in extreme cases. While my points are very extreme, I think that it something that needs to be brought up when meeting online is discussed. I think meeting and connecting in person with someone and seeing them physically is the most genuine way to make a real connection, whether friendly or romantic.
Technology today is such a double edged sword. You mentioned this in your post and at the end of the day I find it difficult to give technology like social media and handheld devices a clear reputation. The positive aspects have really accelerated many of our processes in today’s environment. At the same time the negative aspects have really hindered communication skills, approachability, and face to face interactions.
As far as technology goes for me, I hate it, but I cannot get away from it. I always prefer handwriting notes over any digital form but at the end of the day my homework and exams are always electronic. At times this becomes tough to balance. I have read several articles about the positive and negative benefits of social media. One article stood out to me when I read an eye-opening statistic. This New York Behavioral Health article says “children 8-18 use media 7.5 hours a day outside of school.” This is a crazy statistic and stands out as a huge problem to me.
Source: http://newyorkbehavioralhealth.com/the-impact-of-social-media-use-on-social-skills
I enjoyed reading your post! Yeah as you mentioned here these days social network has become a vital part of how we create relationships. I feel the power of social networks. Usually when i have blind date with someone i check his Facebook or Instagram accounts because i can know whether he would be compatible or not. Also I can get what his personal life like.
There is also another positive points of it. Thanks to social networks we can easily keep in touch with our friends who we cannot meet very often. we can see their life, and their thought through their posts also we can immediately communicate in social networks.
You make both positive and negative points on how technology affects our relationships that i agree with. The power of the internet today brings both the positives, like how you mentioned relationships are started by people meeting on online dating sites and how relationships are able to accelerate with the use of the internet, and the negatives, like how you mentioned the use of social media has opened a door for judging and making people feel insecure because of comments or their social status online. Today, I feel like more and more relationships are starting online with the creation of not only well established dating sites on the internet but now with new dating apps like tinder for example. With today’s technology and the development of smart phones, apps have now opened a new door for how social media is affecting our relationships. Relating to your point on how the LGBT community have found their place in social media to discover new relationships, there are apps developed for people with different tastes and preferences when looking to start a new a relationship. I like how the focus of your post is about the internet, but its also important to see how apps are also playing a role in developing and affecting our relationships today.