Navigating love in the digital age

Navigating Love In The Digital Age 

As many of us know social media has taken the world by storm in more ways than we know. What has continued to stand out to me is how the digital age has changed dating forever.  Everything is on social media these days. People are vlogging their daily lives, sharing details about their personal lives for all the world to see. This is a level of vulnerability that not many can handle. But, even if we do not subject ourselves to this kind of attention, the pressure is still present. Social media has changed the way we date, communicate, and ultimately form relationships. 

The Need For Perfection

Being a young adult in this digital world there is this constant expectation that your relationship needs to be perfect. As we all know, what you see on the internet is not reality. Regardless, we can all admit that there have been one too many times when we sit on social media, scroll, and compare for hours on end. Most likely that person’s relationship that you are viewing is not at all what it seems. The perfection they display is simply an illusion. But, this illusion is what makes people look at their own relationships and compare. No relationship is perfect so let’s stop acting like what we see is the whole truth behind a relationship. Yes, of course, we want to show the good times, the romantic moments, and everything in between when it comes to our romantic relationships, but maybe we can stop comparing those moments because just like us these people are human too. No one person is perfect and neither is their relationship regardless of what you see on their social media. 

Trends Ruin Everything 

The evolution of social media has led to an abundance of social media trends. They can be as simple as a viral dance, a trendy sound bite, or a prank. Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point where sometimes these trends can make or break a relationship. For some, these trends are harmless one second and the next the comments of their video are bashing their partner to no end. TikTok trends like asking your partner to peel an orange for you have become the standard of a relationship. Can you believe it? Have we really gotten to this point? It honestly makes me really sad and ultimately disappointed to be a part of this day and age of dating. If they do not grab the orange and peel it for you then they do not love you. At least that’s what every person in the comments section and on your for you page will say. Recently I was aimlessly scrolling when a woman’s TikTok came up on my for you page to which she is over-explaining herself and defending her relationship. The origin of this video came from the trend of talking about your boyfriend but accidentally calling him your husband to see their reaction. The woman in the video participated in this trend and her boyfriend proceeded to say, “I am not your husband”, followed by both of them laughing. It was obvious that neither of them took it very seriously but, the internet proceeded to cancel him over a simple TikTok trend. You can check out this link for further reference. This is evidence in itself that these trends need to stop. There is no reason something like this which is meant to be fun and harmless can carry so much weight. 

Social media has changed dating forever. I love scrolling through my feed as much as the next person but, it is a shame to see how it has changed dating for the worse. I hope one day we get back to the style of dating that our grandparents, parents, etc., had in their time. No phones, no social media, just plain old dating.