How Social Media Affects Relationships? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Nosedive is the first episode of the black mirror series third season that tries to paint how people relationship will be shaped by technology in the future. The episode in my view paints a picture of how the presence of social media is influencing the way we interact with people in society. Nosedive episode centers on a particular character a lady named Lacie who is in a futuristic world where social media rating matter in every aspect of their lives. Popularity in this futuristic world is based on the ratings that come from friends on social media and with a better rating one can get better things in their life such as reduction in the rent prices improved social standing and readily get employed. In the episode, Lacie begins with a rating of 4.2 and to move into the preferred neighborhood she has to find ways to improve her social media rating to the required 4.5.

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Based on the film this episode portrays how today the use of social media has become so rampant, and many people are judged based on what they post on these platforms. In today's world nosedive is every relevant in the manner in which people rate people based on their online presence. An example is a person with more followers is considered pretty cool, by most users as compared to those with few followers. The number of followers is mostly a determinant for anyone willing to interact with the people. Today this episodes means that it is the time that we as people realized the social media is negatively affecting how lives by restricting us to judging people based on their online presence rather than treating them like other ordinary people we interact with on a routine basis. People must also understand that individuals make mistakes and as such we should not use social media as a make or break in our current but unfortunately this is happening (Bury).

The nosedive episode brings out how social media is essential in the life of Lacie as her every interaction with people will determine whether her rating goes up or low. In this world, everything a person does can either affect you positively or negatively. In the case of Lacie, for instance, she gets a low rating from her cab driver because she made him wait. In another situation to get a rating of 4.5 and be like her friend Naomi she has to attend her wedding and be a bridesmaid and if she performs well, she will probably get a better rating from people of high social class. Through this event in nosedive social media comes out as a platform that can either build or ruin a relationship. Based on the manner in which people use social media it is evident that our relationship can be destroyed based on certain aspects that we dislike about other people on social media(Bury). In social media such as Facebook if an individual fails to get more likes on their status or photos many are bound to pull down their post because they feel their presence is not being appreciated by others. Many become worried that their posts or pictures were not good enough and as a result withdraws from the popular.

The viewer of nosedive episode can know that technology in the form of social media is affecting relationship by relating the habits of Lacie in seeking approval from other people to boost to their practices of looking for likes and followers on these social platforms. Also one can relate with the experiences of LaCie where her rating continues to drop because of poor ratings from friends. Individuals can easily identify instances where they have gotten fewer likes or retweets on their posts even when they are seeking to pass an important message. Individuals can also relate based on the amount of time that Lacie spends on social media getting the right to possess to the number of times are on social media seeking new ways of improving their profiles. Whenever an individual gets more likes on their photos or status and whenever they less like they feel like failures something portrayed by Lacie when she got both high and lower rating (Zumpano).

In today's world our phone is an essential aspect of our life and without it can be terrible for many individuals who have grown used to this gadget. On an average majority of individuals spend around two to three hours a day on social media interacting checking out what has been posted by people they stumble upon. Presence of phones and social media has made it possible to communicate online however our communication offline has been hindered easily. In this regard, social media can either promote or hamper relationship depending on how an individual uses this platforms to share their messages and interact (Koifman).

Various social media platform can benefit relationship in some ways despite the many bad reputations it has gotten. Today many people meet online to interact and end getting married something which was quite difficult in the past. On platforms such as linked one can quickly build their professional profile and as a result interact with people requiring assistance or seeking employees in his particular field (Koifman). Through social media also one can quickly build a good relationship with peers and old friend because through one can keep in contact with people through texting.

Aside from its positive effect on a relationship, social media can be instrumental in ruining the relationship between individuals. One of the most significant challenges today, especially among people, is that they rarely spend quality time with their loved ones. Many couple experience this when their spouses are more hooked to the social media than their relationships. This can hamper a relationship as through this people have little time to communicate with one another and as a result, affect slowly ruin it. Another adverse effect arising from social media is that individuals can create fake profiles and put in false information to woo a certain partner easily. This false information can damage a person who has trusted them emotionally, and they might not be able to trust other people when it comes to the matter of dating.

Social media also play a critical role in shaping how we perceive ourselves within society. To maintain our identity on social media, we are forced to ensure that as individuals take the right picture that matches the filters and the event that is trending at a particular time. Social media has conditioned us to create an identity that needs constant attention to ensure followers are up to date with what is happening in my world. Whenever individuals fail to conform to the social media expectation many get into depression and experience a drop in their confidence levels. It is vital that individuals change these perception that social media has conditioned them by taking time of these platforms and engaging in other activities aside from interacting online(Verduyn et al.,.).

Studies indicate that social media can be beneficial if used mainly for essential purposes and on the hand isolate other people if they are not used as a place to create significant interactions. Our psychological a wellbeing and social relationship can either be hindered or promoted based on the way in which we use these platforms to share issue and interact with various people over the internet. Through social media one can get a lot of approval gain some followers that greatly approve of his actions. This approval by other of social media gives an individual's confidence to go on and interact with other people more and as a result, build a more beneficial relationship that promotes his wellbeing.

If an individual fails to get the approval on social their wellbeing is negatively affected. This can be proved in studies which have indicated that indeed the use of social media such as Facebook is linked to loneliness because of user passive viewing of newsfeeds on different social platforms. Another adverse effect that affects wellbeing is individuals trying to compare themselves with other people who are far more superior. Individuals who regularly compare themselves with other people often experience disaffection in their achievements (Haferkamp et al.,).

Works Cited

Bury, Leah. "Black Mirror Reflections: Nosedive - Babbleon - Medium." Medium. N.p., 2018. Web. 3 Dec. 2018.

Haferkamp, Nina, and Nicole C. Kramer. "Social comparison 2.0: Examining the effects of online profiles on social-networking sites." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.5 (2011): 309-314.

Koifman, Natasha. "Can Social Media Actually Benefit Relationships?." HuffPost Canada. N.p., 2018. Web. 3 Dec. 2018.

Verduyn, Philippe, et al. "Passive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being: Experimental and longitudinal evidence." Journal of Experimental Psychology: General144.2 (2015): 480.

Zumpano, Katherine. "How 'Black Mirror' Changed My Social Media Habits." Futurism.media. N.p., 2018. Web. 3 Dec. 2018.