We're all guilty of it. No matter what age, gender, race you are: if you have a phone or a device that accesses the internet, you have looked at a picture or a post online and wished that you could have that life, just for a minute. The internet can be a dangerous place when it comes to envy, especially concerning how people view themselves. For years society has shown us what they believe to be the "perfect" body type for both males and females, and a large amount of people have fallen victim to this belief. Now, society faces a new danger from social media-- the glorification of toxic relationships.

You get on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or Facebook and see pictures of couples with wide smiles and beaming eyes and wish for just a second you could be that happy. You see the posed "candids" on Instagram of whatever vacation the couple took, or the Snapchat story of a boyfriend bringing his girlfriends gifts "just because" or the tweet bragging about how lucky they are to have fallen in love with their best friend. What you don't see is the fights hidden behind all of the filters. People care more about how many likes they get on a picture with their significant other than actually building a strong, healthy relationship with them. People don't look for their soulmate, they look for who would look best with them in a smiling selfie on the beach. Half of the couples you see that seem the happiest have the hardest troubles. Trying to imitate them, or force them onto your own relationship will only give you the same problems.

This generation has replaced the value of love with the value of likes. We try to force relationships with people who aren't right for us because we crave the fairytale ending. We're more concerned about picking the right filter that we don't pick the right person. Being in a relationship like this, one where you try to embody all of your expectations into a boyfriend or girlfriend is so beyond destructive to your mental health. Heartbreak from true love is hard enough, but when you create this facade of a relationship, the pain is amplified. All of your goals and your dreams you had for the relationship have fallen ill to the plague that social media can be.

Just as social media can be a productive tool to empower people, it can be a tool to destroy as well. You don't realize what is going on in someone's life from what's posted on their timelines. Next time you see a post of a couple and feel a little jealous, realize that everything is not as it seems and it is extremely easy to fake happiness for your followers. True love will find it's way to you. Until then, do not try to force it on someone you know is not right.