Social media has been one of the most profound and influential innovations of the early 21st century. Scientists working on space stations can Tweet photographs of tropical storms long before they’ve hit land; people can touch base with friends at any time. The possibilities are endless.
Naturally, something as potent as social media will affect many aspects of the way we live, but especially relationships. If you’re currently seeking a partner, perhaps one of your favorite hobbies is taking the time to flirt with people online via Facebook or different dating sites? So how does social media affect relationships?
Social media is about compatibility
Whether your motivation for engaging in the online environment is to establish business relationships or more romantic partnerships, social media offers unlimited possibilities. Many platforms are specifically tailored towards a certain type of user.
Take Instagram, a social media channel allowing creative users to share photos. You can quickly engage with a kindred spirit by following the images they upload, the regularity of your likes or comments providing a clear picture of someone interested in their output.
Communication is instant
One of the most fundamental impacts of social media on relationships is the way it makes communication so much more instantaneous. In the offline world, courting can be a drawn-out, even labored, activity. People embark on dates, then wait awhile, sometimes fretting over whether or not the other person is going to get in touch again.
With new technologies, users can attend different chat rooms on sites like this at any time, perhaps sending texts to a prospective partner on the way home from a date.
The relationship net is cast so much further afield
Another positive aspect of social media where relationships are concerned is the way it allows such a diverse range of users to become acquainted. If all that is required is a web browser and a reliable Wi-Fi connection, people can instantly strike up conversations with other users who might happen to be in distant locations.
This has completely altered the face of relationship activity. Long-distance romance is now within the grasp of anyone with a particular desire to connect with singles from a different culture, more so since some social media platforms offer web chatting software.
The connections can be transient
One drawback with social media is it is easy to regard these outlets as being a flippant way of engaging. Users will dip in and out of social media, commenting on posts, liking photos, composing one-paragraph messages, but never really giving any of this much thought.
They may well connect with someone, perhaps even romantically, but there will always be an urge to move on and interact with someone else. On the other hand, it is still perfectly feasible for people to establish meaningful connections via social media. Many a long-standing romance has been kindled via a web browser.
People have a much bigger digital footprint
Because people now have access to an entire suite of social media channels, they can gain a much more rounded picture of the individuals they contact. In the early stages of any relationship, there might be a temptation to undertake detective work to find out if this person really is all they claim to be in their dating profile.
By searching through Facebook posts, you can quickly determine the accuracy of the wonderful hobbies or interests they’ve outlined. This is also a way of assessing character, as you can check out how they act in social situations.
This might be seen as unwarranted snooping, but the counter to that argument is, if they’ve nothing to actually hide, then where’s the harm? And the snooping will cease when the chemistry develops!
