Erica Buddington's F-Boy Literature: The Evolution Of Social Media

We have all heard that communication is the key to any good relationship. The article by David Isaacs (2014), states that “social media is likely to facilitate communication not impair it”, which is one of the main reasons for social networks and to communicate with family and friends all around the world instantly with effortless accessibility all thanks to the internet. David Isaacs (2014)

In the last ten to fifteen years accompanying the dawn of social media, means of communication among friends and strangers have been easier than ever. Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has grown into the largest social media site on the Internet with 30 million users and counting. The ability to catch up with former high school friends who are now across the country or see how an aunt in Pittsburgh has been doing since the birth of her son are now as simple as the click of a mouse. However, the amount of “friends” acquired on social media may not be an accurate reflection of how many close relationships one truly shares. In an article from Bigthink.com titled “Do You Have Too Many Facebook Friends?”, Steven Mazie gathers research from Pew Research Center about statistics surrounding Facebook

Before the beginning of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many other social media sites, romantic relationships would advance behind closed doors. Today, it is much easier to identify at what stage a couple is in their relationship by just turning on your phone and opening up a social media app. Therefore, status updates, tagged picture posts, and tweets are ruining romance and relationships. Social media has ruined love because it is distracting to relationships, it takes away from face to face confrontation, and quite frankly social media is tearing couples apart.

According to statistics, “In 2017, 81 percent of U.S. Americans had a social media profile, representing a five percent growth compared to the previous year” (“U.S. Population with a Social Media Profile 2017”). It’s evident to recognize that today as a society we are more connected with each other than ever before. We can keep up to date with what our friends and family are doing. We can share our thoughts, feelings, and funny moments with others. We can also more easily communicate with groups or individuals. Overall, social media is a great tool, however, it has also become a form of harm to relationships. Although, we like to exclaim that social media has better connected us, in truth, it has actually done the opposite. Dating is something I believe has been impacted the most by this virtual platform. This paper will discuss the several different ways that social media has affected dating and how it can be more harmful than helpful.

With evolving technology comes new types of social media, people have begin to question the internet’s effect on our mentality. It is a bit difficult to compare the pros and cons of social media, it has more to do with an individual’s experience.  Some could be having a horrible time due to social media, but others could be thriving off of it.  The more negative implications of using social media could be the way that we share our personal lives and how much of it we give to the public, regardless of social relationships, to consume.  Along with this, we are deeply impacted by what we see from others based on our viewing of what they share because of the ability to create falsified identities and unrealistic interpretations of who we are

The epitome of a Good Life is the strong relationships humans are able to construct over time, but this can be affected by social media. Even though it connects individuals around the globe, social media can have a devastating effect on the establishment of communication in solid relationships. In Robert Waldinger’s “What makes a Good Life,” TED talk, he believes strong relationships are the framework of achieving a good life. Dr. Waldinger debates that the development of inter-social relationships could highly influence our life in a healthy manner, more than wealth and career success could. The need for relationships is seen through: (a) the Harvard Study, and (b) a healthy lifestyle. Clive Thompson’s article, “A Brave New World: I’m so Totally Digitally Close to You,” discusses how social media has revolutionized the way our community interacts. Instead of having one-to-one interaction with someone in person, now with just a “tweet” or “DM” a person easily contacts another person. He argues that the advancements of technology have led to our society developing an endless addiction to

How communication methods have changed over time and social media’s role in creating romantic relationships

Social networking and other social technology allows for interactions to occur between friends and family regardless of their location. While people remain social through communicating at a constant rate, the essence of face-to-face interactions is in part affected. In romantic relationships, open and honest communication with one’s partner is critical to the trust and development of the relationship. Young adults use social technology such as the Internet and mobile phones on a daily basis to maintain their relationships. Due to the miscommunication that often occurs from not a lack of face-to-face interactions, social technology shapes the way romantic relationships function. Therefore, social technology impacts romantic relationships

In addition to affecting modern romances, social media also plays a large role in the modern friendship, because support on social media between friends is becoming just as important as real life support. According to Pea et al. (2012) the ease of maintaining a friendship through social media, while perceived as a positive, can actually have negative effects on a relationship as face-to-face communication is phased out in favor of interaction over social media. In social media, one can find a plethora of behaviors detrimental to friendships, such as gossip and other factors that incubate jealousy and suspicion (Fox and Anderegg 2014). Friendships that exist in the real world and on the web would theoretically be fortified as another dimension is added to the relationship, but the opposite is true as social media interaction does not strengthen the relationship as actual interaction would. The research of Pea et al.

After watching movies, series and soap operas how the world sees relationships has been perverted by social media. A relationship is built and takes time to progress, after timer you learn about each other and are able to form a strong bond and connection between people. This creates a sense of unity and allows people to build confidence and feel comfortable around each

Social media and infidelity has been a trending topic as technology has evolved. In the text book Human Sexuality: From Cells to Society, Rosenthal explains new different ways of adultery. One of them being internet infidelity. Rosenthal (2013) explains internet infidelity as “an extra marital relationship that begins on the internet; it can involve flirting, emotional intimacy, sexual talk, or other events, which take energy away from the primary relationship and hurt it in some way” (p. 223). People sometimes use social media to flirt with old flames from the past. Social media can be a gateway to endure in sexual relationships or just to flirt with other females. Some people endure in internet infidelity because they are not satisfied in

Aside from expediting relationships, there is the factor of getting to know someone for who they really are. In social networks, “the CliffsNotes of a person's life will never give you an accurate representation of the reality. We create the image that we want to convey through our activity on social media. It's much easier to convey the "reality" that we want to portray on the Internet than to live it in real life.” (Curry, 2013). People often put the best things about themselves on their social network; in fact many show the life they wish they had. This can be detrimental to relationships, because no one is ever transparent or honest. In considering relationships, “the truth is that the content and character of a person should be revealed in layers. The development of a fruitful relationship takes effort, and it is impossible to reach a level of depth with a person by meticulously parsing his Facebook self” (Curry, 2013). Real relationships and depth cannot be established when merely built online.

My generation has grown up with technology in our hands since we were toddlers. We are dependent on technology, from Iphones, Laptops,tablets, ipods, even watches that keep us connected to a never ending supply of distant connection. Social media is the source of many problems in our society. One of the problems is the lack of communication in a relationship. One misconception about social media is that it has the ability to strengthen a relationship because you have another avenue of communication when in fact it is detrimental, due to lack of intimate interaction between two people. Social media not only takes away face to face interactions, but it leads to trust issues, cheating and a lack of confrontation.

We live in the era of technology and many people say that in a sense social networking has become their life line to the world. Social networking is a way for people from anywhere in the world to be involved in someone 's life even from a distance. Social networking has redefined the way people interact with one another (Guo 617). Many of the social networking sites allow people to communicate what 's going on in their life through pictures and from there other people can comment on the post. In today 's world someone can be connected with the touch of a button. While social networking has affected and strained some relationships it has also had a positive impact on many other relationships.

Facebook, a well-known social networking site, has been known to interfere negatively in romantic relationships. Facebook has an option to list one’s relationship as: Single, Widowed, Divorced, Married, or In a Relationship. Posting a relationship status’ on Facebook may be considered a modern day causality, however, even when a relationship status is listed, there are still spouses or partners that will remain to seek others as a “one-night stand” or “lover” through Facebook. Relationships can be affected negatively by Facebook yet a remainder are still considered particularly healthy by having positive components extracted from the social networking site. Scholars publish articles and journals that state the negative effects on relationships due to Facebook yet, it is rare that the positive affects to create a healthy relationship are mentioned. Although these scholars have published such books, Facebook can be very beneficial to high school relationships, but adult relationships have been proven to be less influenced by Facebook and more affected by the individuals in the actual relationship.