Prompt 2: Are relationships experienced in social media contexts “real” and in what sense? What makes a relationship authentic? What criteria would you suggest are important in answering this question?
When it comes to relationships as a whole, it tends to be very complex and complicated. Then add it to social media, and that in itself brings its own problems. Sharing your life on social media can take a toll on yourself and then adding another person to it can make it harder. The whole issue of privacy comes into play. Exactly how much of your life and relationship do you want to show the world. If and when you do share your life, followers will always have an opinion. So when it comes to the whole “real” aspect of a relationship on social media, it’s a bit tough. Sometimes it can seem like the couples have a perfect relationship and life. These couples will also have to reiterate that they’re lives aren’t perfect and that they do not show everything online. So in the context of “real”, it could be subjective to which couple you are interacting with. Real for everyone means something different.
The authenticity of relationships shouldn’t be measured by how and what they choose to post on social media. That is something that is between the parties involved in the relationship. The fans or followers of any social media relationship should not be a factor as what makes their relationship authentic. Because once couples start to become influenced by their fans, it can hurt the relationship. That’s not to say that followers can “check” them for anything else that they might post that might not be ok. But when it comes to people’s personal lives, that is not something that you should be putting yourself in the middle of.
When trying to answer these types of questions, it is always a good thing to not look at them from a comparison point of view. Because if you do that, then you will end up in this constant circle of going back and forth mindset like, “maybe I should so this” “they should try doing this”. Once you get in that mindset, it could get a little unhealthy for yourself if you are always comparing yourself to others. More people need to be able to appreciate themselves for who they are and not try to be someone else that they see on social media. As mentioned before, couples may not be showing their whole lives on the internet. You may not know what else is going on in people’s lives. Just because they post a selfie of them on Instagram does not mean they are having the time of their lives. People tend to be very critical, especially when it comes to online scrutiny. People should also look at how long they’ve been following certain people and what they do show online. People do tend to post a lot of their lives online in a genuine manner, that it is easier to grasp of what their lives are. I feel like this can also factor in when people are interacting with these couples.
Juan Bonete 