Relationships can often be a difficult topic for adolescents in newer generations, due to online difficulties.
The digital age is definitely something that can be an issue with relationships, so it is important that we take the time to discuss these struggles.
One of the major struggles of online relationships is the feeling of uncertainty. At the start, you do not fully know the other person’s values, goals, or level of interest. That lack of clear outcome can increase stress. Now with social media, we often find a way to make it less stressful but also oftentimes, less valuable.
“I think it is more common to ask someone out in person because it’s more meaningful and typically that’s what girls want,” Lauren Ross ‘27 said.
This brings up another question about dating, How does social media affect trust and jealousy in relationships?
Additionally, negativity can be one of the major feelings when it comes to trust and jealousy in relationships so it is important that people find ways to overcome it. In online dating, it is important that we don’t let the internet consume us through false secretive information.
“I think social media can make an impact on jealousy and/or trust in relationships because of the easy access we have to other people and how secretive people can be with social media,” Julie Charland ‘27 said.
The easy access of the internet is a major issue with relationships that affects trust in many different forms.
One example of trust issues in this social media age is Snapchat. Snapchat has allowed people to connect very easily with people and get to know someone in a very quick period of time. For relationships this can be a little scary and have some partners wondering if the other person will be loyal.
“The biggest red flag I’ve seen through digital dating is having your whole best friends list on Snapchat be all of the opposite gender,” Ross said.
The formality of dating can also be a major factor of why many people choose not to ask someone out in person.
“I think online dating makes dating less formal and more casual. Some people may take it less seriously, but the right person will make the relationship important,” Charland said.
But sometimes it is hard to find that person. When do you know? How do you know?
These are all questions that people tend to ask themselves when they get into a relationship with someone else. But an important thing to keep in mind when you ask yourself these questions is that no matter what, that person will know you through more than just a screen but most importantly in person.
“A big red flag I have seen in digital dating is people getting way too attached to what they see on a screen before knowing the person behind it first,” Charland said.
Overall dating can be stressful to some but there are definitely ways that we as a generation can overcome these obstacles. The hard part is just learning how to navigate through the relationships around the toxic side of social media as much as we can.
