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Running Head: IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 1

IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS 2

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Impact of Social Media on interpersonal relationships

An interpersonal relationship is defined as a short or long term association between two or more individuals in accordance with social science (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). Currently, interpersonal relationship is greatly impacted by social media platforms which include; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, and many other social platforms which were all developed with an aim of developing good social relationships. Currently, social media has grown and turn out to be more popular than before. It has turned out to be a convenient and fulfilling means to connect with people. Facebook composes more than a billion users across the globe. The social media platforms assure the user's instant audience as well as the attention, which almost every human being needs in their relationships. Despite the issue of long distances among the individuals, it is easier to locate and reconnect with anyone across the globe. However, despite social media platforms helping in promoting social relationships among individuals, it has hindered interpersonal relationships in many ways. This paper looks at some of the advantages and disadvantages of social media platforms with regard to interpersonal relationships.

Basically, human beings were created to be social creatures in nature. They possess a great desire which pushes them to connect with others (Friedkin, 2006). The emergence of social platforms brought a great impact on the way individuals connect with one another. One of the positive impacts of social media has been in matters concerning romantic relationships. Past studies show that the courtship has currently changed compared to the past, it has evolved from just asking one for an out to just instant messaging with the help of social media platforms (Hackworth et al., 2011). Facebook has been one of the social media platforms which have played a great deal in facilitating such relationships where individuals start by making friendship then go further sharing photos without even meeting physically. Through social media platforms, the users have the luxury of sharing feelings with one another in cases of romantic relationships.

Social media has as well played a big role in shaping businesses. Various business individuals have met with clients through social platforms. Through social media, individuals can market their product freely across individuals across the globe without any interference at a minimal cost. Some individuals have turned to an online business where they don't have to have a physical location where their businesses are located (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). This has greatly promoted enterprising across the world compared to a traditional business where one had to sell his/her services or goods physically. This shows that social media has greatly impacted many businesses across the world.

On the other hand, social networks platforms have been reported to interfere with social relationships. For instance, in dating cases, one has to be aware of how social media can influence a relationship. Social media platforms have high privacy thus making it difficult for someone to know whether a partner is sending messages to other individuals liking other individuals’ photos. Thus these platforms have greatly facilitated cheating in relationships which sometimes can be so stressful and can cause severe consequences such as death.

Additionally, social media platforms can be a cause of anxiety, miscommunication as well as uncertainty. Individuals can post unverified information which can lead to anxiety among other users as well as suspicion. Also, there is a habit of some social media platforms creating a negative loop for feedback which leads to online surveillance between partners (Beniwal, 2018). This act interferes with personal relationships among individuals. This makes them some social media platforms not to be appropriate for anxious individuals.

Some people also tend to spend excess time on social media platforms. This interferes with the interpersonal relationship among individuals in many ways. Utz and Beukeboom (2011), suggests that great levels of twitter and Facebook usage are greatly connected to unwanted outcomes such as the termination of relationships. These outcomes were contributed to various arguments and conflicts more so among the couples. Obsession in social media platforms leads to jealousy and dissatisfaction among individuals who were previously in good relationships.

Studies suggest that social media has with time replaced healthy offline interactions. Social media is slowly killing relationships among human beings. These platforms have inhibited the development of deeper personal associations among human beings. Individuals keep in touch with platforms such as LinkedIn and other blog sites thus making relationships among individuals to be casual, and eventually, people learn just little about their friends. For instance, colleagues do not have time to know about one another personal life other than just what they learn from the social platforms (Yang, 2020). This is also the case among family members where individuals find themselves spending most of their time on social media platforms other than having healthy interactions which could help in strengthening their relationships. Currently, there is a huge challenge since most parents do not have enough time with their kids. This has been liked by challenges facing teenagers since they do not have people who can guide them well.

Although social media has impacted individuals in various ways, social media greatly impacts interpersonal relationships. Social media cannot truly define the filling and reaction of individuals since people can easily pretend when using social media platforms. Mostly, the emotions, weaknesses as well as the conflicts are not expressed on social platforms. This makes it difficult to conceal the aspect that defines an intimate relationship in social media platforms. Thus the social media can never be an alternative for an authentic daily relationship compared to one relationship since one on one relationship enables a conducive environment for interaction (Beniwal, 2018).

In conclusion, real-life interpersonal relationships involve a lot of time to develop thus it enables human beings to know each other well. This is not the same in the case of online relationships where individuals do not have a chance to develop a profound and enduring personal closeness. Thus it is clear that although social media has promoted interpersonal relationships in some perspectives, it has as well hindered it in many ways, thus it can be inferred that social media hinders social relationships.

References

Beniwal Mansi (2018, February 13). Social Media and its Impact on Interpersonal Relationship. Retrieved from https://jarvee.com/social-media-impact-interpersonal-relationships/

Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships: Professional communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Friedkin, N.E. (2006). A Structural Theory of Social Influence.

Cambridge University Press: New York 

Hackworth, B. A., & Kunz, M. B. (2011). Health care and social media: building relationships via social networks. Academy of Health Care Management Journal, 7(2), p. 1.

Utz, S., & Beukeboom, C. J. (2011). The role of social network sites in romantic relationships: Effects on jealousy and relationship happiness. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 16(4), pp. 511-527.

Yang, F.X. (2020). Social Media Friending in building coworker guanxi: A Study in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 84, p. 102183.

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