Social media definitely serves its purpose when it comes to creating unrealistic ideas of what a relationship should be and how a relationship should work. Every scroll through Twitter shows me what an "ideal" relationship looks like, and even if I am happy in my relationship and I consider my relationship to be healthy, social media will argue otherwise.
"I'm dating to marry, so leave me alone if you aren't about that."
"If you aren't dating the person you know you're going to be with for the rest of your life then... wyd???"
I see these kinds of ideas all over social media and all they do is convince people that there are requirements you have to fulfill in order for your relationship to be... legitimate? Essentially, these ideas are suggesting that me, as a 19-year-old young woman, needs to be so set in the fact that my boyfriend and I are going to be together forever and if that's not the case, then there's something wrong with our relationship. These statements create this "textbook" idea that every relationship is made up of two people who knew they were going to be together the entire time they were together.
So, do we forget about enjoying ourselves and living in the moment with our significant others because we're too busy being infatuated with the fact that we know who we're going to one day say vows to?
It's obvious that every person wants to be with someone that makes them happy and we have standards for what it is that makes us happy. We expect our standards and expectations to be fulfilled by the people we want to be with forever. So, with that being said, the people we share relationships with right now likely fit our expectations of what a life partner should be like.
My boyfriend, for example, has qualities that fit my standards and he has some characteristics that I envision a life partner to have as well. My point is not to say that I can not see my boyfriend and I being together forever, rather my point is that I shouldn't have to be thinking about whether or not my boyfriend is going to be by my side until death do us part. If we're happy now, that should be enough.
Who I am right now is not who I am going to transform into. What the future holds is unpredictable and the things we go through every day have an effect on the way we view the world and other people. Often times, what you want right now is not what you are going to want months from now, years from now, etc. This is all due to the fact that we are never in a constant situation. Our emotions change and our attitudes towards certain things change, so why instead of being worried about what the future holds, I just take my current happiness and run with it. I bask in it. I enjoy being happy.
Whether my current happiness is going to last me a lifetime or not, it should be enough for me that I am happy right in this second. Social media has a way of shaping every person to think the same way and it created this idea that young people should be 100% in the person they are with right now. While you should be confident and feel secure within your current partner, it does not mean that you need to know what your future with them holds.
Even the things that may seem guaranteed are not actually guaranteed, so why spend your energy focusing on if your current partner is going to fulfill your standards in the future or not. Realize that the person you're with is what you want now and don't let social media tell you that your relationship needs more.
