Townsend 1

Jephazia Townsend

Ms. Caruso

UWRT 1103

4 April 2017

Defense Paper: Social Medias effect on Relationships

In today's society social media has become a huge factor in how we engage in human

interaction. The usage of social networking sites has spread across a variety of demographics

such as age, location, and how often people use social media. Some of the reasons people use

social sites is to communicate, collaborate, build brands, share media, and entertainment. On the

topic of relationships, people use social media sites for a number of specific reasons that could

potentially hurt the relationship that are in. Whether the relationship is platonic or romantic the

items that are posted to these sites can influence the perception of the person who posted them

and affect those who view the posts. This product is a public video designed to bring forth

awareness of how social media specifically affects romantic relationships. The videos intention

is to inform the general population of the influence that their involvement on social media may

cause. In synopsis the video will be a representation of what a relationship may look like in

todays society and how it is changed as different factors are introduced which are caused by

social media participation. The perception of the video may appear to be satirical as it is

designed to keep the audience engaged. It may show that people are so attached to their social

media pages that they lose interest in their partner and the two begin to drift apart. This videos

intended audience is any person who engages in social media interaction, whether they are

currently in a relationship or not the information could still be useful in informing them to be
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mindful of how attached they are to their social accounts. The video will be displayed on various

sites over the internet, especially social media sites with the ability to be shared to allow the

message to spread and potentially go viral, or reach enough people to possibly make a difference

in the personal lives of the audience.

With the usage of social media it is very common for people to share a lot of details about

their relationships on social media where seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect

with one another (Pew). This could lead to a decrease in intimacy and actual romance in the

relationship. This video will start out by introducing one of the main characters, Tommy. Then it

will proceed to say that he used to be in a happy relationship with Holly. The video will then

introduce the topic and say that they broke up because of social media. The video will show

some scenes of what their relationship could have looked like by showing the couple smiling,

talking with each other, going on dates, and taking walks on the beach. Next is where the first

problem will appear. It will introduce Tommys engagement with Facebook and Hollys

engagement with Instagram. All of their friends will begin to become engaged in what they are

up to as a couple because the two appear to be happy when they post pictures. This gets into the

one of the reasons people post their relationships on social media, that reason being for the likes

and reassuring comments from others. It is very popular to see on social media many couples

that appear happy to be labeled as relationship goals however, the audience has no clue of what

goes on beyond the cute pictures they see on the internet. This video will then illustrate social

media as a gateway to alot of problems in their relationship such as jealousy, infidelity, and a

lack of communication and sources have shown that a block in communication is fatal in

serious, long-term relationships (Becker-Phelps).

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In most relationships there will always be some elements of jealousy or a slight power

struggle for whos in control of the relationship. However, when social media is involved the

level of jealousy is more likely to increase. This can be due to the fact of posting pictures with

other people, posting a certain idea that could be perceived the wrong way, the way an outside

force addresses or compliments a partner, and a host of other minute issues that could be easily

avoided. These small issues are why social media and technology combined are slowly

becoming the number one cause of problems and arguments in relationships (Relationship

Rules). This topic will be illustrated in the video by Holly checking Tommys social media and

finding people flirting and commenting a little too much for her liking on their partners page. In

response Tommy will find similar items on Hollys social media page. The subject will be

brought to attention and the couple will begin to argue. This illustrates the idea that couples on

social media often seek comfort in people through social media instead of their partners. In some

cases these online conversations can cross some boundaries of the relationship and be taken as

inappropriate. It allows the social media user to become engaged with people who could

potentially be harmful to the relationship, like an ex partner. With outside influence the couple

may have a difficult time actually talking about their issues.

The video will wrap up by urging people to limit their social media usage and get

connected with the people in their life. Human interaction in reality is much more beneficial than

online relationships and can have a much bigger effect than the online ones.
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Old Works Cited

Hare, Breeanna. "How Technology Has Changed Romance." CNN. Cable News Network, 12
Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
"3 New Shorts! Technology Ruins Romance - Wong Fu Productions." Wong Fu Productions 3
New Shorts Technology Ruins Romance Comments. N.p., 9 Feb. 2010. Web. 15 Feb.
2017.
Zepeda, Himay. "Why You Should Write Love Letters." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
"Getting Caught by a Catfish Www.loveisrespect.org." Www.loveisrespect.org. N.p., 06 Nov.
2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

New Works Cited

Becker-Phelps, Leslie, PhD. "10 Essential Factors for a Healthy Relationship Relationships."
WebMD. WebMD, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
Dmingthing. ""Relationship Status: Online" (Short Film)." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Oct. 2015.
Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
"The Impact Of Social Media On Relationships." Relationship Rules. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr.
2017.
"Romance and Love in Today's Society: Alive or Dead?" Odyssey. N.p., 13 Feb. 2017. Web. 7
Apr. 2017.
"7 Things You Need to Know About Relationships." Odyssey. N.p., 20 Feb. 2017. Web. 7 Apr.
2017.
"Social Media and Its Uses." Liquid Light. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
"Social Media Fact Sheet." Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. N.p., 12 Jan. 2017.
Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
"10 Reasons Why I Hate Dating In 2017." Odyssey. N.p., 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.