Social Media In Everyday Life
We can hardly imagine our life without social media. Moreover, it is rather weird when a person is not on social media than if he is online 24/7. And it is quite understandable. We talk to friends and relatives there, we flirt, we look for work, we check for new places and people, read news and follow favorite brands. But we often don’t even realize what a huge role it plays in our lives unless we analyze our screen time and talk to our psychologist.
We often forget that it is not only us who decide what we want to get from social media but it’s a huge industry that also gets something from us – time, likes, views. Social media were built to be addictive and influential. Millions of dollars are invested every day to make us spend more time online. And we can hardly resist.
But what do we get in return? Fun or anxiety? It depends on how mindful we are when we use social media. We are always just one step away from getting hooked by the ideal world of perfect images. The worst thing is that we unconsciously compare our real faces, bodies and lives with photoshopped photos with professionally written descriptions. We forget what is real and what is made up to be ideal. We just keep noticing that our bodies aren’t so fit, our hair isn’t so shiny and our lives aren’t so exciting.
It is the biggest pitfall of the online world. When you see pictures of ideal people on the daily basis, It is so easy to forget what is real and what is just the product of work of professional makeup artists, photographers, writers, visual editors and other people whose work is to create the perfect product.
People who forget about it and start comparing themselves to those perfect images, tend to have low self-esteem, anxiety and other psychological issues. That is why it is so important to be critical, to control your screen time, unsubscribe people who make you feel bad about yourself or your life. It is time to take advantage of using social media and not let it mess up with your sanity. Change your relationship with social media before it changed your relationship with yourself and with others. Make it a place that inspires and provides possibilities, not depresses and lowers your self-esteem.
Looking For Love Online
Social media is the source of unlimited possibilities in every sphere of life, including romantic relationships. Taking into consideration the number of couples who met in social media during the last decade, social media has also the potential of becoming the competitor of dating websites and apps. Both social media and dating sites have their advantages in terms of partner search. You can easily find a cute friend of a friend or new colleague in social media and start a light flirt there. You can find people who are interested in the same things you are interested in or, say you live in Tampa, try yo use dating site. But there might be a bigger chance to meet someone who shares your interests and intentions on a dating site. First of all because on dating websites people tend to be more direct with what they want to get and are ready to give.
But when it comes to the first date, the main safety rules would be rather the same. Meeting a person on social media can make you feel slightly safer. But it is just an illusion. Pictures and friends on social media can also be fake. Even if you and this person have friends in common on social media, it doesn’t mean anything. You don’t know under what condition these people added each other in their friends’ list and if they have ever met. So meet in public, let someone know that you are going on a date and provide this person with some info like a car registration number, phone number or any other info you might get before your date or on a date. Don’t feel paranoid texting your friend some details about your date. It is the case when a message on social media can save your life. Also, if you notice something suspicious, do not hesitate to inform other people or leaving the place. Your safety is more important than the impression you make.
Checking-in might be also a good idea. But it is important to respect the privacy of your date. The first date could be a little bit too early for someone to be tagged on the first date. You should always take into consideration how social media affects relationships. Some people post the detailed description of every date, make stories, change relationship statuses and discuss all the private details quite openly. Others prefer to keep things low-key when it comes to social media.
Social Media and Relationships
It is never repeated enough – communication is essential. On every stage of your relationships might appear some controversial subjects. You just need to communicate and discuss – what works for both of you – how often you write each other if you post pictures together if you tag each other, what you can or can’t tell about another one online. Everything related to when and how you show your relationships online should be discussed because of social media impacts on relationships. We can do nothing about it. The only thing we could do is to make social media and relationships function well. And communication is the only way to minimize the negative effects of social media on relationships.
The other way how social media affects relationships is the extensive usage of social media by one of the partners. It could be annoying, cause anxiety and even ruin relationships. The effects of social media on relationships could never be underestimated. That is why it is so important to be a mindful user and keep things under control.
It is also might be easier to discuss some uncomfortable themes online. But it usually causes even more troubles, as you can’t see the reaction of your partner, don’t see mimics and don’t hear the intonation. It can easily cause misunderstanding and become another case of how social media affects relationships.
Breaking Up in the Modern World
Some people also prefer to break up online in the modern world, which might be the worse way to do it. It is disrespectful and mean. A person who does it might feel more confident breaking up online because there is always a possibility to break up and then block a person. But we should learn to take responsibility for our decisions and breaking up via social media isn’t a good way to do that.
Moreover, you should take into consideration the fact that your ex could stay in your online life forever. Even if you block a person from seeing your posts and photos, there are always ways to keep an eye on your ex’s life through social media. The other thing is that it could lead to pretty unhealthy consequences if someone does it too much. Even if you can check your ex’s page every hour, it is important to learn to accept what happened. Social media and relationships could have thousands of issues but you should remember that nothing in social media should make you feel depressed or unhappy with who you are.