You are on page 1of 5

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. 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 (Social Media Fact

Sheet). Some of the reasons people use social sites is to communicate, collaborate, build brands,

share media, and entertainment (Social Media and Its Uses). 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.

The result can be a lack of communication and a lack of in-person social interaction causing a

decline in long lasting healthy relationships.

The goal that is aimed to be achieved is to bring forth awareness of how social media

specifically affects romantic relationships. To accomplish this task I created a social awareness

video 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
Townsend 2

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

designed to keep the audience engaged. It shows 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

mindful of how attached they are to their social accounts and to take caution before they post.

The video will be displayed on various sites over the internet, such as Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, and Tumblr, it can also be located as an ad on dating sites to give people a word of

advice when getting into a new relationship. I would also like it to have 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.

This video will start with an intro thumbnail that has a picture of an evil cellphone with

devil like characteristics in the center and two halfs of a broken heart on either side. At the top is

the title How Social Media Ruins Relationships. I decided to add this beginning thumbnail to

catch the attention of the audience when they are scrolling on their pages and because of the

amount of red placed on a white background, It gets peoples attention and it holds it, which is

why its the most popular color for marketing (Morris). Next the video introduces one of the

main characters, Tommy. When deciding how to approach creating this video I decided to use

characters to give the audience a story to relate to rather than just a list of facts and statistics.

Then it will proceed to say that he used to be in a happy relationship with Holly, 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,
Townsend 3

going on dates, and taking walks on the beach, which may be seen by the audience as typical

couple-like activities, but then ends when the video clearly states that their relationship lacked

these intimate moments. In researching about important key factors for a relationship I

discovered that a relationship needs intimacy. Regardless of whether it's a physical intimacy or

an emotional intimacy, your relationship will slowly wither and die without it (Can a

Relationship Survive). So I felt, it was important to show that Tommy and Holly lacked this

intimacy in their relationship because they were too engaged in social media, which like the

research stated, their relationship eventually ends.

However, I do not mention the ending of their relationship in the beginning of the video

but instead build upon the story to keep the audience wanting to know what comes next. The

video then introduces Tommys engagement with Facebook and Hollys engagement with

Instagram. The video explains that the couple appeared to be happy on their social media pages.

However, in my research I found that that couples who post often about their relationships are

more likely to be feeling insecure (Study Shows That Couples). This piece of information hints

at the next event in the story when Holly checks on Tommys page and finds something that she

feels is inappropriate. 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.

Behind the cute pictures thes video states that social media is a gateway to a lot of

problems in relationships such as jealousy, infidelity, and a lack of communication and sources
Townsend 4

have shown that a block in communication is fatal in serious, long-term relationships

(Becker-Phelps). When Holly sees the innapropriate content on Tommys page she never

addresses the situation with Tommy and they both just post about their problems on social

media. 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 (The Impact of

Social Media).

The video will then begin to summarize by explaining that Tommy and Holly never

worked out their problems and went their separate ways. To wrap the theme back into the video I

add in a section 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.
Townsend 5

Works Cited
Original sources:
"Getting Caught by a Catfish Www.loveisrespect.org." Www.loveisrespect.org. N.p., 06 Nov.
2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
Hare, Breeanna. "How Technology Has Changed Romance." CNN. Cable News Network, 12
Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Zepeda, Himay. "Why You Should Write Love Letters." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Aug. 2014. 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.

New sources:
Becker-Phelps, Leslie, PhD. "10 Essential Factors for a Healthy Relationship Relationships."
WebMD. WebMD, 29 Sept. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.
"Can a Relationship Survive without Intimacy?" Counselling Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr.
2017.
"Can a Relationship Survive without Intimacy?" Counselling Directory. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 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.
Morris, Brian. "10 Colors That Increase Sales, and Why." Business 2 Community. N.p., n.d.
Web. 9 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.
"Study Shows That Couples That Post About Themselves On Social Media Are More Likely To
Break Up." Viral Thread. N.p., 15 Jan. 2017. Web. 9 Apr. 2017.
"10 Reasons Why I Hate Dating In 2017." Odyssey. N.p., 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 7 Apr. 2017.

You might also like