026. 4 Laws of SM Relationship Etiquette
These days it is common to see someone’s relationship drama plastered all over social media, from subliminal Instagram pictures to twitter rants. In fact, many relationships have been ruined because of secret DMs, Facebook posts, and social likes and comments. When it comes to social media you should be selective in the aspects of your relationship that you choose to share, the timing should be right, and both you and your significant other should be comfortable with the content that is shared.
Think Ahead
Before you post anything about your relationship on social media, think about if this is something you would still be comfortable with a week from now? A month? A year? Or even if the relationship goes sour? The most repulsive thing to me is seeing a bunch of PDA post of you and your mate on social media. Sure you want the world to know you and your honey bun are deeply in love and enjoying each other, but there are other ways to portray this to the public eye. Don’t post every aspect of your relationship on social media. The World Wide Web does not need a daily selfie (or “usies” in this case) of you and your mate in every possible angle. It is better to post occasional updates about milestones in your relationships or picture updates when at various events or activities.
In addition, when you and your mate have a disagreement social media is not the place to vent or release your frustrations. When you and your honey are in the middle of a spat don’t take to social media to vent. The last thing your relationship needs is a passive aggressive post airing your dirty laundry. You will regret it, and the last thing you need is the twitter sphere analyzing and judging your relationship dynamics. Remember, the down side to social media is it has become a gateway which leads everyone to feeling if you post it, they are entitled to comment on it. Keep private matters private.
When it’s Facebook Official
Sure you want to show off your boyfriend to all your family, friends, and social media frenemies (those followers who do not necessarily care for you but are interested enough to want to know what’s going on in your life so they can screenshot pictures to their friends and talk about you behind your back), but when it comes to making it official on social media it is all about time and the decision should be on the man in your life. I say this because by making your relationship Facebook official you are merging your circle of friends together. So when is the right time to make it official? Not before you have met his circle of friends and family in real life. The decision to update your relationship status should be a mutual one, before you decide to update your relationship status you should discuss it with your significant other, but he should initiate when it is appropriate to do so.
You’re NOT a PI
Don’t think that overnight you have now become a private investigator and it is your duty to uncover every steamy or suspicion detail about your boo. If you plan to keep your sanity, do not go stalking your significant others social media accounts. Doing this you are only going to plant ridiculous ideas in your head and speculate on his posts or question every picture he likes. Save yourself the brain cells and don’t take what his posts or what other females post or like of his content too seriously. If possible, avoid checking your mate’s social network accounts. It is very easy to find yourself lurking on his page and misinterpreting a post he creates, a comment from a possibly thirsty female, and a friends subliminal or inside joke the wrong way. You could over analyze the post and take it out of context.
Set Privacy Boundaries
Your social media account is YOURS and vice versa. Don’t invade each other’s privacy. Now in that regard, you should filter the private messages and virtual interaction that could be misleading or compromising to your relationship. In addition, I am not sure what is with the recent trend of couples sharing one account or sharing passwords. I do not agree with this, there is no need to share a social media account or passwords while neither party may have anything to hide the accessibility to unwarranted snooping is not healthy nor conducive to the state of your relationship. If you and your significant other have befriended each other on social media keep your interaction between one another lighthearted and fun. You do not have to like or comment on every update each other posts. It is healthy to maintain your individuality in a relationship.
