Does your social media footprint affect your future relationships?

There was a time when social media did not exist

Or it did exist, we just called it the Aunty-Network. Before social media, as we now know it, what you did last summer and the summers before that remained in your memories, and you were in control of what you shared with others when you felt like it.

Equally the Aunty-Network would have a cover-sheet resume version of you so that, when called upon, they could quickly promote your best assets and get you that 'phone-call date'.

Fast forward a couple of decades and what you did last summer and indeed the summers before is all over social media and you're tagged in various posts having all sorts of fun. So does social media history help or hinder your future relationships?

Social media is a complicated, interlinked and changing wonder, just when you think you've got it sussed it morphs into something more. There was a time when one social media app was enough, now you may use different apps for different content that you want to share and with different groups of people.

With so much choice comes a lot of unknowns

So we've put together a handy summary of when social media is helpful and when it can be a hindrance.

Helpful

You can do your own research, you don't have to rely on another person's opinion about your date.

There is a sense of security knowing that you can check who you have in common, and if it's the sort of commonality you approve of.

It's a good way to check when your date is telling the truth about some of the things they did - sometimes we all forget what we have been tagged in.

Hindrance

You might get the wrong impression before you meet them.

You lose the fun and enjoyment in discovering for yourself what makes the other person tick.

When social media just becomes a way to showcase the 'celebrity' in them, you don't get to know the real them.

Whether you choose to be active on social media or not,

there is no denying that your social media footprint is open access for others to learn more about you. You decide if that helps or hinders your future relationships.

Posted July 2018