In the age of social media an important question is now being asked by the masses: If you’re in a relationship and it’s not documented on Facebook, does it even count?
We all have friends who record their entire relationship through social media channels—whether through constant tweets proclaiming their love for their romantic partner, frequent wall post declarations of love, or pictures posted of flowers or gifts received from that special person—and some of us might even be guilty of doing this ourselves.
But how much of our personal romantic lives should be kept private, and when are we guilty of oversharing? When you’re posting on your significant other’s wall about how much you love him or her, are you really doing it for your partner’s sake or just so that everyone else can see it? Most people I know have at least two e-mail addresses, a cell phone (sometimes two) and many other means of communication; is a Facebook post really the best way to relay this information?
It almost seems as if a relationship is no longer just between two people, but rather between the two people and each of their networks of hundreds of social media friends and followers. For years, we’ve heard that you need to practice safe sex because if you don’t, you’re essentially sleeping with everyone your current partner has slept with in the past. So does that mean that by posting intimate details of your relationship online, you’re essentially in an online relationship with every person you know and your partner knows?
The recent Euro RSCG Worldwide white paper “Love (and Sex) in the Age of Social Media” describes the Internet as “the most powerful erogenous zone the world has ever known.” For now, let’s just all be happy that Facebook contains firewalls to protect users from inappropriate content posted by friends…
Jarblum, Meredith. Love (and sex) in the age of facebook. http://eurorscgsocial.com/2011/02/18/love-and-sex-in-the-age-of-facebook/. 13/03/2011
