Negative Effects of Social Media on Our Family Relationships

• Less Caring Attitude Towards Family :

  Social media has become an international source of enjoyment as time pass. It generally hits people’s minds and influences their behavior without being noticed. People have become addicted to being active on social media all the time.

  We see many people on social media who can easily influence one’s behavior. Still, I must say that social media’s vital role is totally above our thinking, and it is certainly more influential.

  As a result, people now have less care for their family members. They remain busy enjoying the liberty of using Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter instead of spending precious time with their family. It is harrowing for the family members if one shows such careless behavior. It seems that people don’t bother if anything good or bad happens at home, which is unfortunate. That is the first and most initial negative effect of social media on our family relationships.

• Absent Minded in Family Issues :

  It has also been observed that people who are habitual in using social media remain more absent-minded. If you ask them anything, they take a long time to reach their present state of mind, and it seems pretty foolish. It also shows that they are indeed out of their senses.

  It happens when someone is addicted to social media very severely. The thoughts that they read on Facebook pages surround their minds all the time. That’s why they take so much time to respond to anyone. It is also noticed that they forget different cute celebrations, for example, the birthday of little brother, exam result celebration of the elder sister, Mother’s or Father’s Day, etc.

  The young generation likes to celebrate everything online; they just think by wishing online, they have done enough. They don’t take much time to be in person to celebrate special days with their loved ones.

• Lack of Conversation :

  People that use social media excessively try to avoid conversation with their family members as they post everything on social media. They try to find answers to all their problems online.

  They think it is more interesting to have a snap chat with a friend than to have a conversation with their guardians. It can also be said that it happens when people think that their Facebook friends are more intelligent and well-known in modernization than their parents.

• Spending Less Time with Family :

  These people usually try not to spend time with their families. Instead, they try to have fun at their friends’ get-togethers or parties, etc. If parents ask them to sit with the rest of the family members in the room and express their thoughts, they immediately give lame excuses to get rid of the situation very gently.

• Sense of Superiority :

  In some cases, people have developed a sense of superiority in their minds. They do not consider others more intelligent and efficient than them.

  In another way, they sometimes upset others by degrading them with extremely harsh behavior and attitude. Sometimes they use such sentences in their conversation that can break one’s heart and emotions.

• Living in World of Fantasy :

  The people who use social media live in a world of fantasy and speculation. It can be clearly seen that if these people are asked to do some household chores, they give reasons to do certain things according to what they think, and that thinking is totally out of the way, and it is impossible to implement it in reality. It happens when they see people post different ideas on Twitter and Instagram. They try to have the same thing happen in their homes. They want to adopt the lifestyle of different people that they see in those posts, which in real life is impossible to have because the luxurious lives of a few people can’t be followed.

  It seems very unrealistic that I want to lead the same lifestyle that Bill Gates is leading. It depends on how social media portrays their lives on different mediums.

  People idealize some influential personalities and then try to be like them and search for their particular lifestyle in their homes.

• Demand of New Gadgets:

  It is often noticed that children demand different unrealistic items from their parents. It was sometimes chocolates or toys etc. But now they ask their parents for a handsome and expensive hand mobile set or a new high quality and extraversion laptop with multiple features. They just don’t want to compromise on this as they consider it a very common facility.

  They also think that it is their right to get all they wish to have. They get in a complex situation sometimes when they see other rich friends have a new Apple iPhone in their hand, and he is enjoying a more digitally featured camera than him. As a result, children demand the same from their fathers, which takes the parents into real trouble as not everyone can afford it.

• • Divorces Caused by this Addiction :

    This addiction is not less than a disorder called schizophrenia. It sometimes disconnects you with your daily routine and makes others unhappy. Of course, it is annoying for other family members that you always keep your mobile phone in your hand and use it all the time in every situation. I want to add here, you won’t believe but this addiction is now leading a relationship to a clear divorce. Married ladies are very much uneasy with their husbands, who keep their mobile phones in their hands and use Facebook all the time.

    These are those husbands who do not notice them in any way and are the true addicts of using such gadgets. The unnecessary use of these mediums creates a space between a relationship between a husband and a wife, which can cause a breakup. That is among the negative effects of social media on our family relationships.

  • Children Psychological Issues whose Parents are Habitual of Using Social Media :

    It has been observed that this habit of using mobile phones has become developed in parents as well. This is quite shocking, but the fact is that few parents can’t stop themselves also to operate social media channels.

    New dress designs, events decoration, party meals, cooking shows, and makeup trends have now diverted the attention of mothers. They enjoy spending their time watching missed drama serials or old movies etc. On the other hand, fathers on social media are now in search of different talk shows, political debates, speeches, etc.

    They are interested in sharing multiple posts with their friends. But no one thinks about the disturbance that is created in the homes due to this addiction. It directly affects the children’s minds as they do not get sufficient time from their guardians. They get confused about making an important decision. They also can’t get their assignments done on time. They sometimes are late for school and college.

    These children get shrewish and furious and do not want to listen to anyone. They sometimes get addicted to narcotics and also spend their precious time in bad company. Parents who do not have time for their children can easily ruin the comfort of their homes.

    Can you answer what will happen if the head of the family is busy maintaining his status on Whats-app and Facebook? Who will run all the work at home? These all are the major negative effects of social media on our family relationships.

Also Read: Negative Effects of Social Media on Communication

Lucy White

Lucy White is a Digital Media Executive by profession and also love to write about social media. She is also interested in research related to facts and figures about social media.