When a person thinks of the word “relationship”, what do they think of?
You can image them picturing two individuals interacting, face-to-face, while communicating and sharing interests on various topics and subtopics. Yet society is slowing adjusting our original thoughts of a relationship and changing them by the interactions we are having through new forms of digital technology. 
We no longer have a single relationship based off of face-to-face interactions. We have expanded our thoughts of relationships into the digital world – whether that be through online gaming, social media, instant messaging, etc.
Social media, specifically, has become one of the most popular emerging technologies. It has provided many with the capability to stay connected within a state, country and even the world around them. The matter is that, just like any form of disruptive technology, social media has become the ghost limb that we have all come to know and love. Without it, we feel lost and disconnected from our society.
Multiple social media sites have gradually affected the way people communicate in any form of relationship – whether that be a friendship, a romantic relationship, or just as an acquaintance.
Many people tend to be more comfortable sitting behind a screen rather than talking face-to-face.
Any relationship made over social media provides individuals with a different form of intimacy that they can not be gained just from face-to-face interactions. Vanessa Marin states that, “most of us are uncomfortable talking about these types of interactions because we worry that social media is too frivolous to argue over, but it is important to recognize that social media brings up real feelings, and those feelings do matter” (Marin). Dating sites, such as Tinder, have become a major change in the way people meet – rather than meeting at a coffee shop or through mutual friends, people are swiping right or left based off matching likes and dislikes or if their profile photo is up to their standards.
On the other hand, Facebook has become the main social media site to keep in contact with all of relations. Family members who live in other cities, states, or countries are able to keep up-to-date with your life through a screen. Friends, family members and acquaintances can tag you in photos and share posts that they think “explain” your relationship. For example, your friend can see a post of two girls holding tons of shopping bags and tagging you in it with the caption “this is so us”. Whether that actually is you and your friend, they will still share the post in order to show your relationship to those who follow you.
All in all, having a lot of tags and shares with everyone you connect with is a great feeling and provides you with a positive outlook on social media.
But does communication within relationships get impacted through social media?
Considering social media is not communicating with people through voice, the text or instant messages can be misinterpreted. Some emotions can be confused with another, which can send mix signals within any relationship. For example, sending a text in all caps can express that you are super excited about something but it can also be interpreted as you being angry and yelling about whatever the conversation is. These types of misinterpretations can cause tension and possibly break up any relationship that you can have with that person.
Social media has made its way to changing the format of relationships. Rather than seeing each other in person and meeting up to chat, people are face-timing and sharing stories on SnapChat to keep those close to them literally in their pockets. Professor Chetan R. Bhamare clarifies that, “In the era of technology, social media interactions now dominates both online and offline conversations. In a society where interacting and over-sharing is the norm, you are probably more likely to speak to friends and family through electronic devices than face-to-face” (Bhamare).
The future of social media regarding relationships will forever be unknown. With the constant advancements, it would be impossible to depict exactly what will happen.
That being said, dependency on social media to have a long lasting relationship will become more popular – especially for long distance. With the help of dating sites and other social media, many relationships will be affected by the constant interactions they will have throughout the day – whether that be good or bad.
-Joanna Bavuso
References:
Bhamare, C. R. (2018, February 28). Effects of Social Media on Communication Skills. Retrieved October 13, 2018, from https://theknowledgereview.com/effects-social-media-communication-skills/
Marin, V. (2017, August 29). How to Navigate Social Media Boundaries in a Relationship. Retrieved October 13, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/smarter-living/navigating-social-media-relationships.html
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