Dating in a world where nothing is private can be a pretty confusing and frustrating place. Over the past four and a half years I've been able to keep a successful relationship even through the struggles and pressures of the age we live in now. Through my experience here are some things that I've found that strengthen a relationship and some things that are sure to make it fail.

Do's:

Guys, come on let's be real. You all have started to lack in the "being a gentleman" department, do the simple things like open the door for her, walking on the side of the sidewalk with traffic, and holding her hand in public! It's the small things that will make her smile

Ladies, don't always feel so threatened by other girls, so what if your man follows old row and has girls in bathing suits on his timeline, he may look but that's all and that's ok! The truth is he is with you and he doesn't want anyone else unless you push him that way.

Together as a couple, you need you have trust in each other, if you find yourself constantly feeling like you need to check your partners phone or like you need to constantly be around them to make sure that you need to be around them this is probably your first sign that you need to either do some soul searching and see why you have trust issues and work it out with this person or there is a reason you can't trust them from the past then it may be time to move on.

Don't:

Don't be selfish, love means that you support one another ALL the time. So your girl had a bad day, be there to make her happy. Your boyfriend is stressing about school or work, surprise him with dinner or a movie to take his mind off of it. Being in a relationship isn't just about the really big gifts and happiness all the time it is supporting each other when one is down.

Don't fight over silly things. The most important thing in a relationship has to be communication. I've found that the small things in life just aren't worth arguing about if its small don't sweat it just calmly explain what is bothering you and then let it go. That simple.

Don't compare your relationship to those you see on other social media sites. This has got to be the BIGGEST relationship killer! The pictures that you see are only the good times, I promise you that they fight and have hard times. Also, I promise that just because they say they are always happy and sooooo in love doesn't mean that they always are always that happy. The moral of the story here, don't let the silly things like social media and "what everyone else is doing" dictate your personal relationship. Be yourself and do what YOU think is right for YOUR relationship, not what everyone thinks is right or what society says is socially acceptable. If you can find do this you can conquer anything.