Published on January 28th, 2020 | by Manish Gehlot

How Social Media Affects Relationships in Modern Society

Relationships are an important aspect of a fulfilled life. Whether we refer to romantic partnerships or friendships, people treasure their relationships and extract a lot of happiness from healthy human connections. Today, social media seems to bring people closer together in ways that were impossible in the past. In this article, we will examine how the connection between social media and relationships leads to important insights.

The Effects of Social Media on Relationships

The best way to analyze how relationships have changed through time is to think of a classic love story that everyone is familiar with. Did you have to write an essay about Romeo and Juliet in school? Then you know how the main source of misery and unhappiness in the play is the two lovers’ inability to communicate with each other. This would not be a problem in our times with services like Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat in your pocket.

Let’s see what were the problems in Shakespeare’s famous work Romeo and Juliet and how these play out in modern society with the influence of social networks.

Social Media Allows Instant Communication

Everyone knows that Romeo and his lover Juliet suffered because they couldn’t communicate their plans to each other. The two characters could only communicate through letters and human messengers. According to Romeo and Juliet essay examples, this caused a massive misunderstanding that led to their deaths. If we analyze the benefits of social media in an essay about modern society, it’s evident that these online networks have made communication in relationships instant and safe.

Social Media Brings Strangers Together

A Romeo and Juliet argumentative essay might claim that the two teenagers were only strangers that didn’t know anything about each other and that they couldn’t possibly fall in love so quickly. This might be easily disputed by the fact that in modern society, many relationships between teenagers start on the Internet. Nowadays people find their significant others on the Internet and one of the most positive effects of social media on relationships is that it makes the world feel smaller and more connected.

We live in an era where a lot of interaction happens on an online platform between strangers. Whenever two strangers discover an affinity between them online, they can develop their relationships in real life. This is no different than what Rome and Juliet did. They escaped their tight families and friends’ groups and fell in love with a stranger. They saw and liked each other, and then they tried to develop a real relationship. Unfortunately, their families preferred that they remain strangers.

Social Media Use Leads to Jealousy and Trust Issues

When we ask ourselves how social media affects relationships the answer is not always positive. Various studies suggest that some relationships suffer from trust issues and jealousy due to what people post online or who they follow. Maybe one of the partners does not like the attention and validation that the other seeks and receives on social media. Maybe one of the lovers thinks that their partner is developing close connections with strangers online.

While a healthy dose of jealousy can be beneficial in a relationship and convince the two partners to seek new ways of bonding, we learn from Romeo and Juliet essay examples that jealousy was a big source of conflict in the play. Jealousy was not only happening between the two lovers but also between their friends and families. Adding a lack of communication, the story ended tragically due to unhealthy insecurities. The connection between social media and relationships revolves too around these insecurities.

A good lesson to remember is that the effects of social media on relationships can be disastrous if trust issues arise. When left unchecked, jealousy can destroy trust. Is it worth sacrificing a happy relationship just to seek entertainment on social networks? On the other hand, if a person receives all the love and appreciation they need from their partner, they wouldn’t seek validation from strangers on social networks.

Social Networks Remove Boundaries Between People

When it comes to social media and relationships, it’s evident that the online environment allows people with different backgrounds, living in distant places, to have a meaningful connection without concerns about wealth, class, race, gender. Social networks are democratic and don’t care about who you are and where you come from.

Romeo and Juliet is often seen as a story where issues of class and social status played a huge part in separating the two lovers, due to the hate between their families. To explore these complex issues, the best research paper writing service can prove immensely helpful, as writing an research paper on this topic is a pretty common task in college. We can then better understand the effects of social media on relationships since here people are no longer divided by arbitrary borders that exist in real life.

The unexpected rise of the Internet and social networks has led many people to think about how social media affects relationships in our modern societies. Since people find less and less time for cultivating healthy relationships, they rely on social media to find their dose of human connection. This can have both beneficial and harmful effects, so precaution is absolutely necessary. However, if Facebook or Instagram existed in Shakespeare’s times, Romeo and Juliet would not have had the same tragic death.

Tags: communication, relationships, social media, society

About the Author

Manish Gehlot I am a privacy, security, encryption and software freedom enthusiast. I am into VPNs, TLS security. Recently I also got into technical writings. I am working as a VPN support and consultant at some nordic VPN providers.