As most of us know, social media has become a huge part of our relationships. It effects our relationships with friends, family, and significant others. Whether it’s the debate on, I can’t believe you liked her selfie, or Why did you respond to his Twitter DM? social media has started to put a dent in the trust we have in the people in our lives.
Unfortunately, with all of these advancements come drawbacks. And while some people may scoff at the idea of a social media app getting in the way of real life relationships, I, who used to be one who scoffed, have begun to see now more than ever the effect these apps have had. Why is it that a simple 10-second picture that is then gone forever can have such an impact? Here are just a few reasons why.
The best friends list.
Why is she in your top five? I thought you two didn’t talk. Do you talk to her as much as you talk to me? Of course, now that we can’t see who other peoples’ best friends actually are, it's even easier to throw out accusations. It’s very easy for us to overthink the best friends list when chances are a person on their list may have only received a single snap to get there.
The fact that they disappear.
Unless someone specifically tells you a conversation they’re having, it's nearly impossible to know what is going on during those 10-second pictures. Heck, someone could be talking about you while you’re in the same room and you have no evidence to back up your suspicion.
The trust factor.
Of course, this leads to some major trust issues. As far as significant others go, it can be very easy to doubt your partner when you have no idea if they’re sending messages to someone else behind your back. No evidence means even more reliance on old-fashioned trust, which many people have a hard time doing.
Taking generic Snapchats too personal.
I, along with many others, are guilty of this. When a snapchat is posted to a person’s story, but also sent to you, you may feel as though you aren’t worthy of receiving a message specially tailored to you. The same goes for those messages you know were sent to multiple people at once. Instead of taking it for what it is, probably a funny or artsy picture your fellow snapchat friend wanted to share with multiple people, we put more meaning behind it than necessary.
The games.
Then, of course, come the games. If s/he sends me a generic Snapchat, I’m going to send them a generic one right back. If you open my snapchat and don’t reply for an hour, I’m going to open yours and not reply for two hours. These games are completely pointless.
We have become so consumed in technology that we have begun mixing our real-life relationships with technology-based ones and are having trouble distinguishing between the fine lines. Hopefully, as the world continues to rely on technology advances we’ll be able to get back relationships that don’t.
