Some people can successfully find their true love through social media but others might not. There are several challenges of using social media to find a potential significant other.

People who would like to use online tools to find a potential partner normally use social media more often, so they might experience a greater influence of social media on their romantic lives. Utz and Beukeboom (2011) found that social media allows for public demonstrations of affection and relationship commitment so that it has the potential to increase relationship satisfaction and happiness. However, its “dark side” cannot be neglected. For example, Fox and Moreland (2015) pointed out that social media users may experience various conflicts over small matters, such as the visibility of content to other users, the likeliness for a partner to access each other’s profile, and social comparison.

In addition, people who find true love on social media often spend quite a lot of time on it during the day (Fox & Moreland, 2015). If one of the partners uses their cellphone too often and sometimes ignores their partner, such as during a date, the other partner can get offended and thus feel unsatisfied with the relationship. Roberts and David’s (2016) study shows that this kind of ignoring of one’s companion and through preferential attention to ones phone (called phubbing) decreases relationship satisfaction by reducing the efficiency of in-person interaction and communication, so relying on social media too much can also be an obstacle in maintaining a healthy romantic relationship.

“Phubbing” Photo taken by Alex Fradera, 2018

Another important challenge in the journey of finding true love through social media is unwanted sexual solicitation. According to Ybarra & Mitchell (2008), about 15% of youths and about 20% of young adults received unwanted requests to engage in sexual activities or conversation, or to provide sexual images. Learning how to say no and/or find supports from community or friends are important. For example, the Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) at UBC provides education, support, and empowerment of people of all genders who are survivors of sexualized violence as well as to their friends and family. 

Similarly, one in every 10 youths have reported online harassment, specifically on social media (Ybarra & Mitchell, 2008). This could be very annoying. 🙁

 

References:

Fradera, A. (2018, July 4). Phubbing [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjwxP2B2LLhAhVKvZ4KHYnxAr4QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/07/04/psychologists-have-looked-into-why-phubbing-is-so-harmful-to-our-social-lives/&psig=AOvVaw1q3SNfQcQa54rQTqj51QQ1&ust=1554338381554110 

Fox, J., & Moreland, J. J. (2015). The dark side of social networking sites: An exploration of the relational and psychological stressors associated with Facebook use and affordances. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 168–176.

Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E. (2016). My life has become a major distraction from my cell phone: Partner phubbing and relationship satisfaction among romantic partners. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 134–141.

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), 511-527.

Ybarra, M. L., & Mitchell, K. J. (2008). How risky are social networking sites? A comparison of places online where youth sexual solicitation and harassment occurs. Pediatrics, 121(2), e350-e357.