In the 21st century most teenagers have multiple social media accounts, and 56% of all Americans have at least one social media account. Social media influences American’s daily routines and lifestyles unfortunately; social media often causes trouble in relationships.
One of the reasons social media tampers with relationships is because people compare their significant others to pictures on social media. Everyone on social media has seen a picture with a cute couple and a caption that says “Relationship goals.” This holds a high and sometimes unreachable standard for people. When people begin to compare their relationships to unreal things they have unreal expectations and expect something from their partner that they cannot give.
Another reason why social media affects people’s relationships is because social media makes it easier for people to flirt with others and cheat on their significant other. People can emotionally cheat on their significant other while chilling at home. It could be as simple simply liking a girl’s picture or favoriting a certain tweet. People can also direct message (DM) people on Twitter, Snapchat, FaceBook, and even Instagram pretending that they are not in a relationship or their relationship “Isn’t that serious” even though they could married with a family.
Celebrities are often placed on a pedestal for just living their normal lives, but social media shines an even brighter light on celebrity relationships. Remember when Kanye bought a wall made of flowers for Kim Kardashian’s birthday? Of course, you do because it was plastered all over Twitter and Instagram. And some women expected their men to do something big like that for their birthdays just because Kanye did it for Kim. But he is a millionaire and the two have their own problems just like everyone else, social media just doesn’t highlight that part of their relationship. There is a popular tweet that says “If Jay Z has time for Beyonce, and Barack has time for Michelle then there is no excuse why you don’t have time for me.” People see Beyonce and Jay Z spending time together and the same with the President and First Lady, but people don’t realize that unlike you and your significant other these celebrities have personal assistants to manage their times to fit each other in. The average Joe and Mary Jane don’t have people to organize their lives for them so they may not always have time to spend together.
People need to learn to love their significant other despite their imperfections and mistakes because that’s what a real relationship consists of. On social media people only share the part of themselves that they want the world to know, especially when it comes to their relationships.