You've just returned to your dorm from the latest house banger. While dancing and having a good time with your friends you notice this handsome stranger out of the corner of your eye. Eventually you manage to muster the courage to beg your friend to learn his name for you. After asking that friend of a friend of a friend, you learn that “hot guy’s” name is Luke and he’s a junior at the school you both are attending. The next morning your phone is cemented into the palm of your hand as you spend hours learning about Luke through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Myspace out of pure desperation. By the end of the day you know he went on a family vacation to Mexico three years ago, had a schnauzer named Titan, is a Capricorn, and broke up with his most recent ex-girlfriend approximately three months, four days, and seven hours ago.

Eventually you and Luke begin to hangout and ease into the awkward phase of romantic relationships where you have absolutely no idea whether you will “officially” date or just cumbersomely stop texting one another until communication ultimately depletes. In this somewhat inevitable phase you begin to feel copious amounts of pressure from friends, your mother, and worst of all social media to not only “make it official” but to be that perfect couple.

With common social medias (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) you always run into photos of couples, quotes about relationships, “relationship goals”, and just this plethora of what the internet feels a relationship should look like. Relationships are strange, exhausting, and confusing all on their own. Toss social media into the mix and you have suddenly created something even worse: unrealistic expectations and pressure to be perfect.

Various accounts on twitter collage these photos of intimate objects such as massive bouquets, stuffed animals, items from Victoria’s Secret and Sephora with the caption “goals”, in regards to what these females want and feel that their significant other should spoil them with. It doesn’t end there. More photos emerge of happy perfect-looking couples with shredded physiques and who are almost too photogenic. Then popup the quotes that tell us what one should give and receive in a relationship. Social media is often times overwhelming with information and opinions-keyword opinions.

I have been with my boyfriend for a little over a year and I can never go too long before friends and family begin to nag me that he and I never post any pictures or updates on our lives. When we manage to crawl out of bed and turn off Netflix, the last thing we think to do when we go out is to tag our location or snap 30 photos of us eating dinner. Therefore, I sincerely apologize for not recording every single detail and aspect of my relationship. Okay I lied I am nowhere near sorry. The belief that the two of us share is that we would rather tell one another how we feel in juxtaposition to the internet. Don’t be deceived, we do share strong feelings for each other, we just don’t make it twitter or Facebook official, and that is okay with us.

If you love capturing the moment with your significant other, or anyone you care about, that’s absolutely fine; good for you. However, when a person begins to rely on these medias for relationship advice and expectations is when it becomes detrimental. There is a fine line between reality and fantasy and that veracity is that your relationship will probably not go as effortlessly as the make-believe one on your favorite twitter account. Remember that you are the one who dictates how you associate and interact with another human being, not the internet. As humans we are riddled with our own faults and flaws but that is what constructs our personalities; how we differ from one another.