A Look Into the Impact of Facebook on Modern Relationships

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Whichever category you fall under and select will grant you a different reaction from your Facebook friends and prompt new conversations. Facebook has become a major part of today’s society and has changed modern customs, like initiating and interpreting relationships. This technological innovation has redefined what it means to be in a relationship, as shown by the new importance of being Facebook official and displaying one of these relationship statuses. It allows people to put their love lives out in the public eye for any of their friends and acquaintances to see. Facebook affects modern relationships because it has created new expectations, new ways to communicate, and new reasons to be jealous in a relationship, leading to potential distrust and discontent.
The rise of Facebook has led to a change in expectations about relationships and related behavior. One way that this is shown is through the shift in how relationships are now initiated and grow. Before the founding of Facebook in 2004, M. L. Knapp’s model could illustrate the start of a relationship. This model displays stages of initiating, experimenting, intensifying, integrating, and bonding (Fox, Makstaller, and Warber). Since the growth of the website, which allows users to create a profile, connect with others, and expand their network of friends, the stages of starting a relationship have changed (Fox, Makstaller, and Warber). Now, potential partners initiate communication offline and then turn to Facebook to learn more about the other person, removing the risk of rejection as well as discarding the experimenting stage (Fox, Makstaller, and Warber). Because the site allows users to display their interests and information about themselves, daters spend less time ...

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