'Love in The Age of Social Media' Article Research

I have gathered some further research on how social media effects our relationships with other people and then the further effects that this has on our self esteem. When researching, an article that stood out to me was 'Love in The Age of Social Media- where does creeping end and dating begin?' by Francesca Friday:
 https://observer.com/2017/12/social-media-love-hunt-where-does-creeping-end-and-dating-begin/

In the article, Francesca talks about how easy it is to know exactly what our friends, family and partners are doing at every moment as social media makes it so easy to find out all of this information- down to where someone was last seen, when they were last online, who they are with, and even to extremes such as exact addresses of where people live. The article also talks about how we show the 'best' versions of ourselves on social media, which can be very deceiving as often peoples 'online' version is nothing like their actual self.

Gathered research and notes from article:

• Social media allows us to see where people are at any given time pretty much- for example Snap Maps...where friends’ exact locations can be broadcasted across the globe in minute detail, marked by cartoon “Bitmojis” that can be customised down to hairstyle, body type, jaw line and nose shape. In day to day life this might be seen as normal as it may look like were just 'checking up' on our friends to see if they're safe perhaps? but really this is extremely stalker-ish behaviour as it means that privacy no longer exists.

• 'We’re connected more than ever, often in ways that transcend traditional conceptions of privacy—entering a realm where everything is broadcast to a global audience'

• Francesca also mentions that as the lines between private and public become more blurred online, so do our real-life interactions with others, especially when it comes to dating in todays society. This links to how often a persons 'online' version can be extremely different to their 'real life' self, this is the first step on how social media effects meeting people for the first time. As on social media platforms such as Instagram we only choose to show the happiest and best-looking photographs of ourselves. 

• The point above links to how dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, Grindr and Hinge have redefined and manipulated online dating for the social media age, as it allows the persons profile to be crafted to reflect how they wish to be viewed, rather than how they might actually be viewed in person (the 'real life' versions of themselves), with misleading photos or information.

• The article also touches on how easy it is to find out every detail about a person before even meeting them- and adding them into your contacts might allow you to locate their Snapchat, Instagram or other social media handles, unleashing an avalanche of information you might not even necessarily want- 'Suddenly you know what they do for a living, and you’ll have to act surprised when they explain it to you on the first date'