By: Ollus Ndomu
They say, “No man is an island unto himself.” Life abounds in relationships, and how we interact with the world around us. Now, more than ever, our relationships are being heavily influenced by social media. Social media platforms are impacting our behavior and ability to connect with one another in lasting and meaningful ways.
The use of social media has become almost a matter of course for the vast majority of the world’s people. While it has done much to bring the world closer together, it has also done much to damage meaningful human connection. We every so often feel more comfortable interacting with people we would otherwise never met, but more often than not, when we don’t have to face each other directly, we can be less courteous, more judgemental and even downright hostile. As a result, relationships that do form can often be filled with mistrust and lack of respect.
Also, when engaging with others over social media, we don’t always get the full story. Pictures, posts and conversations we see can be a heavily-edited snapshot of somebody’s life. This can lead to miscommunication, misunderstanding and false impressions. People can often post in ways that are incendiary and inflammatory. And, as we can quickly message or comment on someone’s posts, this can often lead to arguments, or even cyberbullying.
Perhaps the most insidious way that social media has negatively impacted human relationships is in the way we think about themselves and others. Many times, people only post the parts of themselves that they want to show the world. This can lead to feelings of inferiority or jealousy. It can lead to melancholy, as people compare the heavily edited “best version” of their own lives to the heavily edited “best version” of somebody else’s.
Relationships require commitment, hard work and often, sacrifice, and social media can make that difficult. It is much easier to hide behind a computer than to invest time and effort in other people. People in relationships typically spend time talking and listening to one another, and this is being replaced in some cases by spending time liking, commenting and posting.
The truth is, relationships are often fragile and require nurture
