Quinn Wilson
In Motion Staff Writer
Social Media is often a great way to make new friends and find lost contacts. Like most things in life, there’s always a downside. The “Journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking” released a study with the message that social media usage often negatively affects relationships.
It’s not so easy to break up with someone face to face, but it’s much easier to remove someone from day to day life via Facebook. With a few clicks a relationship status can be altered, photos removed and even the partner in question can be ‘unfriended’.
Princeton Survey Research Associates International also conducted surveys, receiving interesting results from adults aged 18 and older. According to aforementioned survey, 25 percent of people in a relationship feel that their partner is distracted by their cell phone when they are together.
An easy example is going to a concert. In video recordings, thousands of people can be seen flashing cameras and holding up their cellphones. Trying so desperately to record amazing moments in life can often lead to missing out on a lot of interesting things.
Make no mistake, social media can be helpful and entertaining, but putting things in perspective is rarely a bad idea. If there comes a time when Farmville becomes more important than loved ones—if there comes a time when it’s tempting to call a partner out on his faults via an angry Facebook rant—it might be a good idea to step away from the electronics and take a breath of fresh air.