The combination of social media and relationships can be damaging, to say the least. A certain amount of genuine connection can be lost.

Finding love and keeping love in today’s world is difficult. When it comes to social media, there are twice the amount of issues than before love was displayed online.

Let’s face it, putting a spotlight on relationships and being available to the world changes things and tests the strength of unions.

How social media affects love

Social media has done good things for society, and it has brought more people together. Individuals who would have never found a way to meet in the past can now make easy online connections. These are the good aspects.

There are negative impacts on relationships, however, and we see social media as less than savory. Here’s why:

1. It’s Easy to Pretend

“Online relationships are not real” – I’ve heard this statement from so many people in the past decade. You know what, some of this statement rings true, but of course, not all of it. When you meet someone online, social media, for instance, you have the opportunity to craft who you are.

You can be anything you want to be, honestly. Unfortunately, most people are lying about who they are on social media. This is one reason love often fails through this medium. Social media hurts relationships because people can be fake.

They can get away with being fake for a long time, even for a while after meeting in person. Their persona has been built so strongly during online connections, that when they first meet in person, it takes a while to catch on to the truth of this person. This is one reason why love is hard to find.

2. It’s Easy to be Used

Social media and relationships present an unhealthy recipe sometimes. It’s easy for people online to take advantage of one another. Since you cannot be together, face to face, you have to trust blindly. When you’re trying to find love, social media presents an unfair arena.

Some people are more adept at conversation behind a screen, and can easily use other people at will. You must be extra careful when meeting people online because real love is extremely hard to attain this way.

Most of the time, what you think is love ends up being a union for convenience and gain.

3. Dishonesty Reduces the Chances

Just like pretending to be someone they’re not, some people online can be dishonest about most anything. Love is difficult when it comes to social media because most everyone lies. Some people are even habitual liars.

This makes them experienced liars as well. If you’re smart enough to detect the dishonesty, it can make it hard to actually find any genuine people. Without personal contact, it will be hard to understand the level of this dishonesty.



4. Social Media Addiction

Once you’ve actually met someone online, the next step will be to meet in person. Say, all this goes well too, well then what? One of the things that kill relationships after meeting offline is an addiction to the old social environment.

If you met online, then chances are, one or both of you will still be addicted to some form of social media. There are so many risks and temptations involved with this issue that can destroy budding relationships.

For instance, if you met online, then beware of infidelity online afterward. While this doesn’t always happen, it does happen often. Sometimes people are simply addicted to the online chase, while others get caught up by spending too much time on social media.

It’s best to moderate to preserve your relationship, honestly. Either way, this addiction can prove to be a big hurdle for love.

5. Elevated Expectations

Here’s one that most people don’t even consider – high expectations. So, you meet online and learn so much about this person. You are stoked, right? They seem responsible, they are funny, they act in a respectable manner, and all that.

Well, let’s wait until you meet in person and see how that goes. No, really, you have to do this. That’s because most people are not as great as they talk themselves up to be.

That’s most people, as I said. Personally, I have started doing this thing with myself which involves sharing my worst attributes to offset the things I may have inflated if that makes sense. Anyway, high expectations can damage a relationship as much as cheating or being disrespectful.

This is because you feel cheated and disrespected by someone who hasn’t been 100% honest with you. Or, they’ve just hidden their bad parts. You will find the truth, and you have to weigh your options with this one. Or, you could just lower your expectations and see what happens with that.

Is social media the devil?

I had a friend who made a video and posted it on social media. While I don’t like to share my friend’s name or the name of the particular social media, I will say that it involves a book with many faces on it.

Lol So, he opens up the video with a blanket statement saying, “******** is the devil”. Those asterisks are there to hide that social media network’s name….ahem…

So, then he goes on to say why he feels this way, and it’s quite compelling. Needless to say, sometimes it can seem like social media is out to destroy relationships, but you must remember, we are the ones behind the keyboards allowing this to happen.

So, take it as you wish.

I do hope, however, that you are able to have healthy relationships free of the negativity involved in social media. I think, as with many other things in life, it has a great deal to do with moderation.

After all, too much of anything isn’t all that healthy. I hope you find your balance too!

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