The Impact of Social Media on Romantic Relationships in China

Abstract

The vast majority of people worldwide regularly access social media on their smartphones. The increasing popularity of social media has undoubtedly impacted people's social relationships and is gradually becoming a new hotspot for research in communication, sociology, and psychology. This study sought to understand to what extent social media has affected the emotional health and relationships of real-life couples, utilizing several literature reviews and factual case studies. The study's results suggest that an individual's likelihood of experiencing negative effects on their overall emotional well-being and declining quality in their romantic relationships was positively correlated with the amount of time they spent on social media. Social media can contribute to the development and maintenance of romantic relationships to a certain extent. However, at the same time, over-reliance and blind use can hurt people's emotions, including disappointment, frustration, and social comparisons. It can cause couples to spend less time together offline in a relationship, become distracted and irritated, and erupt into more conflict. An analysis of these results and their respective implications are discussed in this research.