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Technology really has a way of fucking things up sometimes — especially when it comes to relationships. All it takes is downloading a social media platform and double-tapping on the wrong person’s picture and you’ve got yourself an argument. Social media and technology really have the capacity these days to cause fights about things that would have never existed 10 years ago. Guys and girls are both guilty of the same crimes, freaking out about the same insignificant, pathetic things. Technology has given us so many ways to deceive each other and so many ways to come off as absolutely psychotic.
1. Snapchat
First off, thank God Snapchat removed the list of public top friends during their last update. That just saved countless people’s relationships and mental health who check up on their crush/significant other/ex-significant other every 12 hours. Top Snapchat friends gave reason for arguments and trust issues because if you’re sending multiple selfies back and forth with another person while you have a significant other — I’m sure your partner knows you’re probably not talking about the weather or tomorrow night’s homework assignment.
2. Liking (and not liking) pictures
The ridiculous, 21st century issue of who “likes” what pictures causes questions like, “Why did I see on my Instagram feed that you liked Cassandra’s picture from 47 weeks ago? Why didn’t you like my new picture? Do you not think I’m pretty anymore?”
3. Twitter favorites
Twitter seems to be winding down in popularity, but you can bet there are still arguments regarding questions such as, “Why the hell do you favorite all my boyfriends tweets?” If Bob tweets, “She makes me so happy,” and Sandy favorites it, Bob’s girlfriend goes ballistic. “IS THIS ABOUT SANDY?!”
4. FBO
Facebook official! You know, when you decide to publicly post your relationship status for all your Facebook friends — who you totally give a shit about — to see and like and comment on. Your best friend will like it, maybe your Aunt and maybe your ex-boyfriend if you’re lucky. Some people don’t want to become Facebook official with the other person, which then causes arguments because people could get insecure about why the other person won’t publicly display that they’re dating. Some consider it tacky, some consider it a sense of stability within the relationship, some do it with a sense of spite and some don’t do it because they’re embarrassed to be dating the person in the first place — which causes another whole set of problems!
5. Read receipts
I’m sorry, but if you have your read receipts on, you’re one of “those.” Come on, it should be obvious that if someone doesn’t answer you in a significant amount of time, they read your text and they just aren’t going to answer. No one really goes more than three hours max without checking their phones. Read receipts cause unnecessary anxiety and unnecessary drama. You accidentally open a message you didn’t want the other person to know you read and then there’s no turning back. And honestly, most of us know that if it hasn’t said “read” in a considerable amount of time, the person has seen it but is just avoiding opening the message. We all know the game!
6. Seeing photos you didn’t want to see
If you aren’t on top of your game in checking your notifications and you have a significant other who watches your social media pages like a hawk, here are some scenarios you may be able to empathize with:
Janet got tagged in a photo on Facebook of her kissing her guy friend on the cheek at a party. Janet’s boyfriend calls and freaks out. Janet said she didn’t even go out last night? But it was from two nights ago? But her boyfriend doesn’t believe her, and Janet is considered a liar and a cheater.
John’s girlfriend sees a picture of John and a bunch of friends at a party, and some of them are really pretty, so John’s girlfriend freaks out and accuses him of cheating. Now when he goes out without her, he has to text her all night and she restricts him from socializing so that he becomes that dude in the corner of a party who’s stuck texting his girlfriend.
Taylor’s snap story featured Emma in the background of a selfie; Emma’s boyfriend sees it, and before you know it — 16 missed calls in seven minutes.
So there you have it: six additional reasons for couples to fight. Six reasons that never would’ve existed when our parents or grandparents started dating. Social media increases unnecessary suspicion and seems to constantly put people in relationships on their toes when they don’t really need to be. It’s so much easier to ruin your trust with someone with all the new ways there are to keep tabs on people! If your significant other is very concerned with social media and you’re not, you should confront them and explain to them how insignificant and unrelated whatever you’re doing on social media is to your relationship. A “like” is not worth ruining an entire relationship and the comfort level between two people. No one wants to spend their time worrying about what their boyfriend/girlfriend is going to see.
It’s honestly better to avoid dating someone who is focused on these types of things in the first place. It’s also important to consider that it could demonstrate some type of insecurity in your significant other if they feel threatened by things that are so miniscule. If the arguments happen to come from a sense of boredom within the relationship that causes you to fight about such irrelevant things just to fill the void — then maybe you should consider leaving that person, and just invest in a dog instead.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Domna Dali at domna.dali@colorado.edu.
