Statement: Relationship creation and building will be
dominated by social media.
I believe the above statement about social media is
true. With the creation of the
internet and the birth of social media, the way relationships are formed and
maintained has shifted drastically.
According to the video,
“Social Media Revolution 2012,” one out of five couples met online.”
Ten or twenty years ago this form of relationship creation was unheard
of.
Social media not only offers tools to create new
relationships, it also makes it easy to maintain existing relationships. In a recent blog on Mashable.com, the author writes about how social media allows a particular married couple
to stay connected during a busy work day when they are apart. The entry says “The couple uses Twiter
to keep in touch, cheer each other on and ‘share the love.” With today’s
technology there is not always enough time for a phone conversation, but social
media allows you to communicate quickly and effectively with a loved one.
Social media makes it possible to connect with those from
the past. Relationships that would have disappeared 20 years ago, now have the
ability to resurface. One blogger
tells the story of how two teenagers went to camp and reconnected via Facebook
20 years later. This blog entry highlights
their dating and eventual marriage.
A recent news story reposted on YouTube, discussed that most people nowadays do not consider a relationship "official" until their relationship status is changed on Facebook. This statement alone depicts how instrumental social media is in relationships today.
As social media continues to grow and expand, more people are starting to prefer it as a primary way of communicating and maintaining relationships. In an article on Yahoo, it states that "39 percent of people surveyed spend more time socializing online." This means instead of face-to-face communication or even verbal conversation, over one third of those surveyed prefer to communicate online.
Based on the above information, I do not believe the power of social media with relationship creation or building is likely to change anytime soon. The only way for it to change would be for the Internet to crash or become an obsolete technology and new forms of communication to be established. I do not believe this is likely and instead I believe the world of social media will continue to grow.
Social media is definitely here to stay. Each day new social platforms are being created and Facebook being the most popular continues to change. I remember when Facebook was just a baby…it was just for college students and there were no apps or Farmville. Then all in a blink of an eye, EVERYONE was on Facebook and not just college students!
ReplyDeleteIn the Love 2.0 Blog the story of the couple who reunited after 20 years was amazing and ONLY would be possible through social media. The internet has paved ways for people who live in completely different corners to be able to connect with someone. Romantic relationships are one prime example with websites like eHarmony. There are multiple social platforms that are focused on romance and attraction. In the article “How Social Media Helps Romantic Relationships Thrive”, the couple who tweet each other shows how even text messaging may become obsolete. Why say I love you in a text message just for you to see, when I can say in a public manner for the entire world to see, literally. This strikes the public affection and acceptance aspect of being in a relationship. This helps to validate partners to not just each but to everyone that is their friends on these social platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
I completely agree with you. Social media will only continue to grow and expand. Look at the YouTube video on social revolution. In under four minutes, it was able to compare the size of social media to to countries. Half of the UKs internet usage is on facebook. Without youtube and other social media outlets the world would not have the ability to meet some of the people they meet and learn the things they learn. Youtube videos shape our culture in ways we would have never seen 10 years ago. There was a video that was posted on Youtube showing a couple getting married and the wedding party doing a dance to a song by Chris Brown. This video was in turn re-enacted on a TV called "The Office." A couple on the show got married and did that same dance from the youtube video to the same Chris Brown song. What started out as a fun piece of entertainment later on shaped the entire episode of a top TV show.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that the internet is good for relationship building. Consideration should be paid to a few things. First, it takes a lot more trial and error to meet someone online. For example, meeting a person face to face requires triggers mental and physical response to several senses. Meeting someone online triggers only mental responses. Some may argue that they feel something physical, but the truth is they are reacting to the mental state of imagination. A visual stimulus is powerful online and in person, but the other senses are not involved to really move forward.
ReplyDeleteOnline relationships also cannot be determined at first glance. Hours, days could be spent online texting just to find out when you meet them they have bad BO. Bottom line for me is you are correct, but meeting someone online does not drive real natural desires, and feelings, but more mental stimuli from what a person believes will happen.
http://thebusinesswiseclinician.blogspot.com/
I definitely agree with you on this. I believe that someone's online profile has become just as important as someone's actual physical being. Individuals that are dating each other look on each others social network profiles all the time to find out more about someone; it allows people to key into aspects about an individual that cannot necessarily be seen face to face. This new popular method of dating has been studied since it became mainstream for most American's to date in this manner.
ReplyDeleteThe following is a link to a study that was done in 2009.
http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue2/ellison.html
You had mentioned how someone's relationship status is only real till it is announced on a social network. Well this study tells us how others form "honest" online environments and how they assess online "honesty".