Written by Social media has become a crucial part of our everyday lives in the current technological age. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter (X), and Snapchat have brought about a monumental shift in how we relate to, interact with, and ‘voice’ ourselves. Yet, while claiming to provide a means of connection, social media often disguises the increasingly significant problems they cause our relationships with other people in real time. From disrupting and deteriorating face-to-face relationships to increasing mental illness and warped societal attitudes, the changes are profound and wide-ranging. This article discusses the major issues that social media has caused in our relationships with people, specifically: trust, emotional intimacy, and social behaviour. Social media promotes quantity rather than quality. It’s not uncommon to have hundreds or thousands of friends or followers, but how many of those are close relationships? These online ties tend to be superficial, sustained by likes, comments, or memes, and not by meaningful conversations. This facade of familiarity creates a false feeling of belonging. Psychologists are adamant that relying entirely on direct contact for support may be even lonelier than when a person has no support at all, especially during personal crises when real support is valuable. Though this is not an unusual occurrence, there is a tendency for frequent use of these apps that provide the option to view images, videos, and communicate with others to contribute to misinterpretation and eventually jealousy in dating relationships. For example, when a person in a dating relationship likes, follows, or comments on another person’s post, it can generate feelings of insecurity and skepticism in their dating partner, regardless of there being no actual cheating. A study published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking found that 1 in 3 couples reported that they had fought about something one of them did or saw on social media. With time, this may erode trust, create the impulse to surveil (read partner’s messages or followers), and create emotional distance. The design of social media may be inherently addictive (push alerts, endless scroll, likes, etc.) and can lead to individuals spending hours staring at their phones and making it all too easy to forget the correlations of reality. The cost of this screen time: dinner conversations ignored, partners left out during crucial conversations, or parents missing from family time. A 2024 American Psychological Association survey discovered that 68% of individuals had previously had an experience over the past week when they had felt snubbed by another person who was using a phone while they were conversing . Such “phubbing” (phone-snubbing) behaviors can threaten trust, affection, and intimacy in personal relations. The second issue that has arisen as a result of social media is a comparison culture. People tend to only share their best selves online, such as their best times, vacations, and accomplishments, and they hide their struggles. For the viewer, it creates an unrealistic world that leads to feelings of envy, inadequacy, and anxiety. When people feel like they’re “not good enough” when comparing themselves to others, it not only fundamentally undermines their mental health but often becomes a threat to their relationships. Low self-esteem can develop into emotional dependency, withdrawal, or even defensiveness toward a loved one. Social media is not always a secure environment. Toxicity, online bullying, and cyberbullying have increased disproportionately, primarily among teenagers and young adults. Their emotional scars of online abuse often spill over into offline relationships as they withdraw or become fiercely defensive. An estimated 37% or more of adolescents in 2022 reported being bullied online, with long-term effects on their trust and communication styles offline. Constant access to everyone’s social life—parties, vacations, achievements—can create FOMO, as people begin to feel left out or isolated. This can make people overdo themselves socially, sideline genuine relationships for the sake of “being seen,” or even doubt the quality of existing friendships. This, in turn, hurts relationship satisfaction and breeds social anxiety. A Complex Web of Challenges Whereas social media has been designed to unite people, it ironically tends to cause more emotional detachment in most real-life relationships. Issues vary from compromised communication to emotional insecurity and lack of trust. The cyber world can never be able to offer the depth and touch of human presence. As we keep advancing in this digital era, recognizing these issues is the starting point for reclaiming the power of our real-life connections. KEEP READING FORAMZ FOR MORE UPDATES
Written by foramz
In a world obsessed with appearances, where beauty standards are ruled by social media, teenage girls are caught in a dangerous spiral. The desire to be thin, to fit into the idealized mold of beauty, has become an obsession that is no longer just about health but about survival in a world that rewards the “perfect” body. What starts as a harmless attempt to lose a small amount of weight often turns into a life-threatening battle. Extreme diets, unhealthy fasting, and unscientific weight-loss methods have become the new normal, pushing young girls to the edge. Every morning, millions of teenage girls step onto a weighing scale, their hearts racing with anxiety. A number flashes on the screen, dictating their self-worth for the day. If the number is lower, they smile. If it’s higher, they sink into self-loathing. They scroll through Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, flooded with influencers promoting dangerous diet trends hot water fasting, extreme calorie restrictions, and detox teas promising “instant weight loss.” What they don’t see is the damage these trends cause hormonal imbalances, organ failures, and irreversible harm to their growing bodies. The pressure is everywhere friends discussing the latest diet, celebrities flaunting impossibly thin bodies, family members commenting on weight, and even school environments where “fat-shaming” is casually normalized. The message is clear: “You are only beautiful if you are thin.” This leads to desperation starving for days, drinking excessive hot water to melt fat, or taking unregulated weight-loss supplements that claim to work miracles. But the cost? Their health. Their lives. In recent years, reports of teenage girls collapsing from malnutrition, suffering from heart failure, and even losing their lives due to reckless dieting have emerged. The heartbreaking case of a teenage girl from Kerala, who died after following an extreme hot water diet, is just one example of how far this obsession has gone. What began as a simple desire to lose weight ended in tragedy. This article will look In-Depth about the dark side of weight loss trends among teenage girls. In the upcoming parts, we will explore the problems, the solutions, and the devastating real-life cases that expose the ugly truth behind these so-called beauty standards. It’s time to question: When did health become secondary to thinness? And how many more lives need to be lost before we realize the cost of these dangerous trends? Keep Reading Foramz for your daily dose of emotional support