As of July 2024, the number of social media users worldwide is 5.17 billion, accounting for 63.7% of the total population. In 2024, Instagram posts received an average of 513.37 likes, 15.66 comments, and 19.79 saves. Especially with social media influencers, their relationships are often not as perfect as their followers think. We explore how social media can make dating a superficial and unpleasant experience.
ghosting
Ghosting is an easy way out on social media. You don’t explain why you stopped talking to someone and pretend nothing happened and this person was never in your life. In modern dating culture, it’s still as common as ever. A 2023 survey found that one in four people have experienced at least one ghost attack, and about half of ghost attackers want to avoid a confrontation. Interestingly, this trend is spreading to the job market: By 2024, 93% of Gen Z will admit to having been to an interview, while 87% will not show up on their first day on the job. They do this to avoid conflict, just like on a dating site.
Choose my boy and girl
Girls and boys who chose me to pretend to be different from everyone else in the hope that it would make them look more attractive, and often did. However, once you get to know them, you realize that deep down, their main concern is attention, and social media is an obvious conduit for satisfying that need. If you are in a relationship with someone, you may find that everyone in the media knows about it, even down to the details.
jealous
A shocking 82% of Americans admit to having been jealous of their partner. Online conversations are a significant issue, with 28% of respondents saying it causes jealousy. Social media can exacerbate jealousy in relationships. Most users care about likes, and you can usually see who has liked other people’s posts or pictures. Almost everyone who’s ever been in a relationship has wondered why someone likes their partner’s posts or photos. Some may even worry that their partner is cheating on them, with users who like their photos, whose photos they like, or both. In this situation, some people may worry that they are not up to par and feel jealous of the other person.
There are even accurate statistics on how many likes a post should have. Acceptable averages vary by medium and audience size. On Instagram, it accounts for 3-6% of followers.
They are a source of distraction
Social media can also make real-life dates unpleasant. One doesn’t need to imagine dating a guy or girl who is severely distracted by their phone or embarrassed by not having one. FOMO lingers, leaving a decidedly unpleasant mark on the dating experience. For some, the obsession with what happens on social media never seems to go away.
Couple “goals”
Social media influencers lead couples to set unrealistic relationship “goals.” There are many examples, but the earliest one dates back to 2015. .
To the dismay of their millions of fans, they split after two years. Jay found the fame on social media overwhelming. He started disrespecting his girlfriend and only cared about the money he made from his posts. The relationship made Alexis anxious because she constantly worried that she wasn’t good enough in Jay’s eyes. Still, there are millions of people around the world who want to be in a relationship like Jay and Alexis’, which is typically characterized by flamboyant displays of wealth and an obsessive focus on money and appearance.
