I recently participated in a local podcast that touched on this topic and, somehow, raised good arguments.
How does social networking sites affect real life relationships?
One is online and the other, well, IS generally offline even when some of it IS spent online.
Some of the questions raised and tried to find answers to were:
- Will you ask your partner to delete photos/albums of his or her exes?
- Why is that bit important to you?
- Is it important for partners to update their profiles?
- Why ...
I’m not certain about this, but social networking sites cause me to realize something that is a bit hard to accept: As a happily married adult, I have loved many people in my life. But, I still love many of them dearly – and I’m referring only to that subset who are still in my life and whom I can still claim to know well.
All of this was sparked by a dream I just awakened from: In it, my spouse seemed unusually distant and pre-occupied with a former love. I realized immediately that the dream had less to do with my spouse, and more to do with my own feelings about loves past and present.
There’s nothing I hope to come from the realization of this “conflict”. I’m don’t seek to reunite with loves past, or to strike up new relationships. I’m just trying to process this, and to think about how social media exacerbate the issue for me, without being the source of it.
Mike,
Social networking sites are a great way to keep in touch with old friends, lovers or otherwise. And sometimes the fondness for these past lovers stays. My ex and I are great friends and I love him to death. And I honestly don’t see anything wrong with it. As long as it doesn’t affect my present relationship. Old pictures will stay and no one can make me delete them and I wouldn’t expect the new boyfriend to do that either. Too much of anything is bad. Ditto with social networking sites. The only time you probably have to question it is if you find yourself spending more time socialising online with an ex as opposed to your present girlfriend…