Are social networking sites ruining our relationships & society as a whole?

[painted_pony]

Everyone is encouraged to provide their own opinions on this topic, but please dont let it turn into a fight. I've noticed a lot of heartbreak on here (myself included) that has been caused by social networking and the internet is general. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace...you name it, these sites are a breeding ground for emotional affairs to spring up. It's easier to cheat on your loved ones when you new "whore" is just a click away. Before these sites, I think having an emotional or physical affair was more difficult to a certain extent. Your significant other would notice if your schedule was off, leaving the home for extended periods of time, and etc. It seems like most of these sites have just enabled these "losers" even more in the quest to find their next fling. I believe cellphones, social networking and things of that nature have only fueled the already skyrocketing divorce rate and number of kids who come from broken homes. Now, I'm not saying everyone who uses these sites is just looking for their "next piece of ass", I'm simply stating that its making it easier to do the wrong thing. After all dont each of us know at least one person who has been hurt by these so called advances in communication technology?

 

[crazylilth1ng]

I think the internet has a lot to answer for. It makes cheap thrills a lot more accessible, you can line up a "cheap, one off shag" from the comfort of your own home and chatting to "old friends" on facebook and the like is asking for it in my opinion, especially the emotional affairs you talk of. Saying that, I have facebook and I don't do internet cheating. But I can see why people do as it is so easy!

 

[jenniferttc1]

I think the internet makes it easier for them to cheat, and find other men/ladies. Thanfully my husband doesnt show much interest in his facebook, he has one and updates his status once every couple months.

 

[painted_pony]

Also to add, theres a specific website...I believe its called Ashley Madison. It's targeted towards married couples only. Their slogan is "Save your marriage, have an affair." Now how messed up is that????

 

[megrenade]

Social networking or not, if your guy is an unfaithful, lying *******.. he's going to be so without it.

Same with shitty friends.. if they're going to be crappy to you on FB, they'd do it even if it didn't exist.

 

[jenniferttc1]

Also to add, theres a specific website...I believe its called Ashley Madison. It's targeted towards married couples only. Their slogan is "Save your marriage, have an affair." Now how messed up is that????

That has to be the dumbest slogan ever!

 

[painted_pony]

I'm not saying that everybody is going to be 100% faithful and we will live in "rainbow happy land" if there wasn't these sites. I think its making it alot easier and only fueling problems we have as a society.

 

[loverguts]

I think its more that people have less morals nowdays. Even before mobile phones and internet, certain behaviour became a lot more acceptable.
I would never cheat on anyone but i know plenty of people who do it all the time without a second thought. Im sure it wouldn't have been that way in the 20s/30s etc. (Or at least i can't imagine it would have been!)
Our generation is just a lot more sleazy in general.
But i agree that social networking/mobile phones etc make it a lot more accessible.

 

[yumosh]

To be honest I think it's easy to blame the Internet. Before that it was Novels, then rock and roll, after which American pop culture and television and now it's the Internet.

There's a deactivate button. Use it. Also, a happy marriage can't be destroyed because of a website. Those who use these already have marital problems. Why wouldn't you use them? Because, arguably, you're not looking for an affair. Equally, people have always had affairs before web! Luckily tey can be easily caught out and surely you've freely expressed your opinions, so?? Are you a bad gossiping person? No, of course not. It's great we can share ideas etc.

You can be anonymous. You can also log out. I can't blame a website for marital infidelity: we need to look at our relationships.

But very interesting thread. I'm a Media lecturer so I debate this with students all day long!!!

 

[painted_pony]

To be honest I think it's easy to blame the Internet. Before that it was Novels, then rock and roll, after which American pop culture and television and now it's the Internet.

There's a deactivate button. Use it. Also, a happy marriage can't be destroyed because of a website. Those who use these already have marital problems. Why wouldn't you use them? Because, arguably, you're not looking for an affair. Equally, people have always had affairs before web! Luckily tey can be easily caught out and surely you've freely expressed your opinions, so?? Are you a bad gossiping person? No, of course not. It's great we can share ideas etc.

You can be anonymous. You can also log out. I can't blame a website for marital infidelity: we need to look at our relationships.

But very interesting thread. I'm a Media lecturer so I debate this with students all day long!!!

Yes, yes this is what I like a good debate without the hate, lol. Alright here's my comeback. Rock n roll couldn't email/text/chirp that person that a certain individual was sleeping around with. There wasn't that instant form of communication back then. Now cheating jerks who have any spare moment in the day can instantly contact their "whore" for a good time. Back in the day, it was alot more hassle...so maybe for that reason less people participated in it??? A theory of mine i guess.

 

[youngmommy2]

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

 

[loverguts]

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

It IS terrible. I have never ever put anything about any argument i have ever had or any drama going on in my life and i would kill my DP if he ever did either! But it seems the majority of people do, it makes me cringe!
Especially when people dramatically change their status thing to 'single' to get people asking whats up and then the next day its back to 'in a relationship'...ugh

Sorry, going a bit off the main focus here, haha.

 

[painted_pony]

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

It IS terrible. I have never ever put anything about any argument i have ever had or any drama going on in my life and i would kill my DP if he ever did either! But it seems the majority of people do, it makes me cringe!
Especially when people dramatically change their status thing to 'single' to get people asking whats up and then the next day its back to 'in a relationship'...ugh

Sorry, going a bit off the main focus here, haha.

Yeah I'm guilty of posting that shit on Facebook a couple weeks ago. I feel somewhat bad that I did since he got in trouble, but I also feel alright about it since they read that then started an investigation because of it. Then I went back to feeling like shit when they proved he wasn't guilty of anything. I suppose there could have been a more adult way I could have handled that to have an investigation started. I get annoyed by people who change their relationshio status like the days of the week. Kinda freaks me out, then I wonder just how much are they sleeping around to have that many partners in such sort period of time.

 

[HappyAnjeL]

I have to agree with Megrenade on this one. While I do think it makes it easy to do it's not making anyone become a liar or cheater. Those qualities were already there. There is nothing saying that they have to accept or look at the profiles of anyone they don't want to.

 

[youngmommy2]

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

It IS terrible. I have never ever put anything about any argument i have ever had or any drama going on in my life and i would kill my DP if he ever did either! But it seems the majority of people do, it makes me cringe!
Especially when people dramatically change their status thing to 'single' to get people asking whats up and then the next day its back to 'in a relationship'...ugh

Sorry, going a bit off the main focus here, haha.

Yeah I'm guilty of posting that shit on Facebook a couple weeks ago. I feel somewhat bad that I did since he got in trouble, but I also feel alright about it since they read that then started an investigation because of it. Then I went back to feeling like shit when they proved he wasn't guilty of anything. I suppose there could have been a more adult way I could have handled that to have an investigation started. I get annoyed by people who change their relationshio status like the days of the week. Kinda freaks me out, then I wonder just how much are they sleeping around to have that many partners in such sort period of time.

im totally guilty of it too.. but ive also been a victim of it and it hurt really bad.. me and my ex got into a HUGE fight and he posted on facebook that I gave him herpes(which i didnt, he doesnt even have it) he was just saying that to piss me off.. and it got BLOWN UP ..all his stupid friends were messaging me saying horrible things and putting it on their status's.. it was truly a nightmare and really messed me up for a long time

 

[painted_pony]

Well no...social networking doesn't take over ur brain and make u go sleep with somebody else. Its making the process if it so much easier. I've started relationships online, but I've never cheated with anybody online. Social networking and cellphones won't make a person do it, but they sure as hell are helping that process along a lot faster. IMO..

 

[MommynWaiting]

Social networking, per se, isn't ruining society, but the accessibility and immoral comradery that it entails, simply magnify an existing problem. It's NOT causing more problems, it's publicly displaying existing ones. When persons of similar immoral composition meet, they replace guilt with justification. Unfortunately, they are receiving the justification from those of similar calibration.

Social networking simply provides the means, but it doesn't, in my opinion, create or exacerbate the problem.

 

[sjwebb]

I have to admit I am a facebook addict but I do not engage in online flirting or anything else. My husband has a facebook but hes never really on it. We also have a very strict rule or not allowing ex's or anyone we've had a "fling" with. I won't tolerate it. He said he couldn't agree more. I believe that you can have networking sites and have trust with your partner.

I also agree with the previous poster about how if your happy in your marriage then you can't blame media sites for breaking them up. Do I think they make it easier to cheat and lie and leads to temptation? HELL YES!

My husband has my passwords to EVERYTHING, literally everything and I have his. No secrets, no problems.

 

[Maybe1daysoon]

technology is NOT to blame, just as the "whore" is NOT to blame the CHEATER is the only person responsible for thier actions. Before technology people cheated at the office or with neighbors etc. The upside of technology is that it is 100% easier to catch the offender. LOL. Men in general arent the smartest creatures, and their cell phones provide a window to the soul. My OH thinks that his cell phone is "locked"... what an idiot, I have seen him unlock the phone so many times i can enter the code in my sleep. I am not saying that it is right but sometimes i go thru it look at texts, frequent calls and pics. We usually have proof of infidelity! Women in previous generations usually had to go on "gut feelings"

 

[painted_pony]

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

It IS terrible. I have never ever put anything about any argument i have ever had or any drama going on in my life and i would kill my DP if he ever did either! But it seems the majority of people do, it makes me cringe!
Especially when people dramatically change their status thing to 'single' to get people asking whats up and then the next day its back to 'in a relationship'...ugh

Sorry, going a bit off the main focus here, haha.

I honestly think facebook is the devil for relationships.. everything is so out there and people feel the need to put all of their business about their significant others especially during a fight on there. its terrible

It IS terrible. I have never ever put anything about any argument i have ever had or any drama going on in my life and i would kill my DP if he ever did either! But it seems the majority of people do, it makes me cringe!
Especially when people dramatically change their status thing to 'single' to get people asking whats up and then the next day its back to 'in a relationship'...ugh

Sorry, going a bit off the main focus here, haha.

Yeah I'm guilty of posting that shit on Facebook a couple weeks ago. I feel somewhat bad that I did since he got in trouble, but I also feel alright about it since they read that then started an investigation because of it. Then I went back to feeling like shit when they proved he wasn't guilty of anything. I suppose there could have been a more adult way I could have handled that to have an investigation started. I get annoyed by people who change their relationshio status like the days of the week. Kinda freaks me out, then I wonder just how much are they sleeping around to have that many partners in such sort period of time.

im totally guilty of it too.. but ive also been a victim of it and it hurt really bad.. me and my ex got into a HUGE fight and he posted on facebook that I gave him herpes(which i didnt, he doesnt even have it) he was just saying that to piss me off.. and it got BLOWN UP ..all his stupid friends were messaging me saying horrible things and putting it on their status's.. it was truly a nightmare and really messed me up for a long time

I'd be so pissed if somebody said that about me. A dude did the same exact thing to my sister but I think it may be true lol. She's kinda easy with some creepy guys. Maybe its the ease of communication now days that escalates all these types of problems.