A Peek Inside Negative Effects of Social Networking Sites
Social Networking Sites have become part of our daily lives. Online anonymity allows people to behave in ways they usually would not. One aspect of life that has been greatly affected by Social Networking Sites is romantic relationships. With the invention of Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, online infidelity and monitoring a partner has become easier than ever. Researchers have found that online infidelity has been linked to invasion of privacy. Once a partner begins invading their partner's privacy, jealousy is a likely result. Jealousy has been noted as one of the biggest components of relationship dissatisfaction. All of these factors work together and are the most potent cause for the destruction of relationships. This site was created to look into the different aspects that Social Networking Sites have negatively affected. When examining the negative effects of Facebook on relationships four major topics come to mind: Cyber Cheating, Jealousy, Invasion of privacy, and Relationship Dissatisfaction.
The first component of social networking sites that is affecting romantic relationships is cyber cheating. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, being online allows for people to behave in ways that they would not otherwise engage in. An individual who is in a monogamous relationship may become interested in another individual on their own social network site, such as Facebook for an example. Having a site such as the previously mentioned allows for privacy and anonymity. You could be in a serious relationship with somebody and be carrying on an online relationship with another individual while keeping it a secret. It is also quite possible to keep a sexual conversation with someone other than your significant other through email and chatting sites. Research has shown that the privacy component of social networking sites allows for individuals to engage easily into online cheating. Sure you can delete every conversation with your online partner to hide the evidence, but it still is wrong. Online cheating gives an individual a sense of boundless continuity empowered by secrecy (Gerson 2011).
Jealousy is also a key component in the negative effects of romantic relationships. While on Facebook, you can navigate the personal sites of anyone who has a page including, yes, your significant other. Your significant other could be conversing with someone of the opposite sex about something as small as an assignment at work on their Facebook wall and this could lead to feelings of jealousy. Simply being friends with your romantic partner online might just be a bad idea. With the freedom to "spy" on their page, more and more people are engaging in this behavior than ever before. Research conducted by Utz & Beukeboom(2011) support the fact that individuals who previously did not engage in checking the social networking site of their significant other now engage in this activity due to the secrecy aspect. Meaning that it is possible to view the page of your romantic partner as many times as you wish without them knowing the number of times you have done this. Viewing something that you do not wish to see on your romantic partners page definitely leads to feelings of jealousy. Underneath the jealousy tab, there is more information and research that looks into various types of jealousy and its negative effects on romantic relationships.
As if cyber cheating and jealousy aren't bad enough, we have the aspect of invasion of privacy online. When we are on our social networking sites, we disclose way more information about ourselves than we would do in face-to-face interactions. Although many of us do not see the negative side to this, we continue to engage in it. Lets consider a romantic relationship going sour for a second. A couple who splits and still remains friends on Facebook can be a very bad concoction. The partner who is not ready to let go of the relationship quite yet has all your information and whereabouts just a mouse click away. Of course it depends on how much information you readily display on Facebook, however it still has negative effects. Yet another negative effect is the fact that your ex could be stalking your page as often as they wish without your knowing. This can be very scary with the simple fact you do not know who is viewing your information at any given time. Young people ages 18-25 frequently engage in these "stalking" behaviors of their current romantic partners or ex romantic partners. The tab invasion of privacy gives you a deeper look into stalking and the various terms that explain online intrusion to a point.
Lastly, we touch on the topic of relationship dissatisfaction in connection with Facebook. When a significant other has a Facebook page that is lacking pictures of their partner or even mentioning that they are in a relationship, it can cause arguments and feelings of jealousy. Research conducted on this topic shows a direct link with dissatisfaction in a relationship and the way a significant others Facebook site is set up. It is a common fact that now-a-days Facebook is a source of newly created arguments. Dissatisfaction can arise easily if one of the partners chooses not to put "in a relationship" on their profile or even include their significant other in pictures. Click on the tab Relationship Dissatisfaction to read more about this topic!
In conclusion, there are many negative effects on relationships when considering social networking sites such as Facebook. It can cause feelings of jealousy and relationship dissatisfaction and allows for a partner to stalk one another. New developments such as chatting and emailing also allow for the possiblity of cheating online with privacy. In the grand scheme of things, Facebook has the potential to ruin many relationships due to the amount of negative effects that it elicits. While engaging in a romantic relationship, steer clear of being friends on these social networking sites!