Your smartphone is probably one of your favourite gadgets, right? I don’t blame you! I mean it made the internet so much fun with all these cool social media platforms that you use daily to keep up with current social events, catch up with your friends, or even, let your bae know how special they are. Social media is cool and all, until your online habits start to mess with your relationship. Here are a few social media habits that can affect your relationship: 

Oversharing

There’s nothing wrong with being in love and wanting to share this feeling with the world. A Facebook status here and an Insta Story there can warm your bae’s heart, but sometimes it can be too much and make your partner feel uncomfortable. Also, in cases where you speak to your partner about something that bothers you and they dismiss it, you can get frustrated and voice your frustrations on social media instead of having a serious chat with your partner. That doesn’t help the relationship because your partner might think you’re sharing too much with online strangers. Instead of pressing that “post” button, rather discuss the problem with them first. Remember that what you post on social can’t really be deleted and privacy is also important in a relationship. 

Being overly-friendly 

Online conversations are usually instant, fun and light-hearted but they can threaten your relationship. This is because you might think you’re just being nice without realising that your partner, or the people you’re chatting to, interpret it differently. This doesn’t mean you can’t be friendly, just make sure that you’re not being friendly to the point that everyone sees it as flirting.

Monitoring your partner 

No relationship is perfect. Regardless of how you feel about your partner, there’ll always be ups and downs. When there’s trouble in paradise, that’s where your communication skills can be put to good use. Stalking your partner’s social media interaction is usually a bad idea. Who your partner decides to like and follow should be their choice.

Being online during bae time

Chatting on, or browsing through, your social media while you’re with your partner can easily make them feel neglected and undervalued. It also makes it look like you’re not prioritizing them or don’t find them as interesting as whatever you’re looking at or whoever you’re chatting to. Instead, put your cellphone aside and share quality time with bae. You can always go back to social media later.

Demanding to see their DMs

Being in a relationship doesn’t entitle you to invade your partner’s privacy. As much as you’d want loyalty and honesty, demanding to check their DMs will put a strain on the relationship because it tells your partner that you don’t trust them. 

It’s so easy to fall in the trap of saying or doing things that make your partner uncomfortable, especially on social media. If you know that you wouldn’t want your partner doing it or knowing about it- then you probably shouldn’t be doing it. 

Remember if you or a friend need advice or help, you can contact me here on Ask Choma, send me a Facebook Message, a Twitter DM, or a WhatsApp Message (071 172 3657).