Relationships Through Screens

                     Relationships through screens

Social media is a place to present your life in images and texts you choose to show to your audience. It is a place that supposedly connects you to people through the platforms and gives you an easy way to communicate. But it seems to be tearing relationships apart and making them more diverse than ever.

In person, we’re well adapted to conversational debate or polite avoidance. Through the flat reality of a computer screen, it’s far harder to get to that place. When people share opposing opinions it’s a natural behaviour to simply want to unfollow, or even block them; and ultimately there’s something inherently disarming about face-to-face contact which doesn’t seem to apply online. Studies show  it’s easy for hatred to develop against people you don’t see e.g. people online. 

The way we act in person and the way we act on social media are two completely different things. That’s why it can often be misleading to other people and make us react in different ways to situations online. When individuals consume a lot of social media, it twists our minds in a comparison type battle of competing over who has the best fake life, which can lead to hurtful messages therefore tearing up relationships. 

I surveyed 67 female college students (between the ages of 10-18)  and asked some questions regarding social media and relationships. Here's what I found...

Amount of girls who have drifted apart from someone due to social media:

Although the answers were pretty even, the amount of girls who answered 'yes' to the question was seven more than those who answered 'no'. When asked how the situation made them feel many said sad, angry and disrespected. All the answers were negative emotions.

On the survey I also asked 'what caused you and the other person to drift' and these were their answers...

Miscommunication:17
Mean comments: 2

Under the influence of drugs or alcohol: 1

Shared/posted something you didn't like: 6

Talked about you behind your back: 16

In conclusion I believe communicating through our phones does have effects on relationships. Many people have experienced "drifting" due to social media. There seemed to be many reasons as to why this happened but the biggest reason from my survey was 'miscommunication' which was what I predicted. One of my questions was 'Do you think you would've behaved differently in an argument face to face?' and 35 out of 49 said no. This information leads me to believe people behave more aggressively on social media behind the safety of their screens than they would face to face. This seems to be the key reason for relationships being torn apart due to social media

By Cate Barton