The Effects of Social Media on Interpersonal Relationships

 

Smartphones are everywhere, whether you’re in a bus, strolling the countryside, or even sitting in the classroom. It’s almost impossible to find someone not scrolling on their phone. According to Nyst (2023), there are 4.8 billion social media users worldwide, which is 59.9% of the world’s population, and 92.7% of all who use the internet. Social media is an indispensable aspect of our lives. Spending so much time on it is definitely going to affect us heavily, both positively and negatively. In the case of social media, it can bring both positive and negative effects to our lives.

 

First and foremost, social media keeps our relationships alive. In earlier days, long distance was the killer for many relationships, and the barrier for making new ones. There were no instant messaging apps like Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, or FaceTime back then that allow users to share their lives with the ones they care about, and see each other’s face as if they are talking to each other face to face. These apps also allow us to meet and talk to new people online. Back then, there were only payphones, people could not share photos, or meet new people. Without convenient ways to meet and talk, relationships die slowly, and new ones never form.

 

While it’s great social media helps us maintain our long distance relationships, it nevertheless increases the chances for your partner to seek other relationships through it. Licensed psychotherapist Joyce Marter (2016) said that “Social Media seems to have added fuel to the fire of infidelity, former flames are just a click away. Appropriate relationship boundaries can become blurry. For example, when does casual messaging cross the line into an emotional affair?“.All of us who use instant messaging apps know that all the messages one person sends to another is not likely to be seen by others without consent. In other words, sending messages to the other man or woman in a relationship via social media can be quite discreet. That said, although morally dubious, it is a rather safe space for someone with ill intentions to engage in unfaithful behaviors.

 

Last, social media could lead to the isolation of some people. Being accustomed to messaging others via social media could cause social isolation in some people. According to Regis College (2023), “Social media usage may also have negative impacts on social isolation by substituting social media usage for face-to-face social interactions, or by exposing individuals to unrealistic or distorted portrayals of connections’ lives, leading to feelings of isolation.” This means that, instead of going out and talking to people directly, those people end up replacing it with messaging others and scrolling for more similar reels they like to watch in Instagram, lamenting on how they could not be famous and glamorous like the people they see in it.

 

In summary, social media is an important aspect of our daily life. Whether it be a positive influence or a negative one, without a doubt, it heavily influences our mind and behaviors. What’s of the utmost importance is that we should use social media responsibly,so that it does not take control of our lives. It is fine to enjoy what social media brings to our lives, but we should not forget who we really are, lest we get lost in the pursuit of recent trends.

 

References

 

Annabelle Nyst (2023, July 14). 134 Social Media Statistics You Need to Know. SearchEngineJournal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-statistics/480507/#:~:text=Social%20Media%20Statistics%20Worldwide&text=There%20are%204.8%20billion%20social,increase%20year%2Dover%2Dyear.

 

Regis College (2023, May 3). Does Social Media Create Isolation? RegisCollege. https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/does-social-media-create-isolation/

 

Matt Lindner (2016, Nov 11). Does using social media make you more likely to cheat? ChicagoTribune.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-social-media-cheating-family-1115-20161111-story.html