Social media has had a huge impact on modern relationships, especially Facebook.

For example, there is a new saying: it’s not official unless it’s Facebook-official. This means that until a couple declares themselves “in a relationship” in that coveted Relationship Status update section, it really is not real. Which is complete and utter nonsense, of course, but when there are brides who change their status to “married” while the wedding ceremony is still in progress, it’s easy to see that some people take these things quite seriously.

Facebook has changed relationships in another important way – namely, the way we stay in touch. I don’t think my grade 12 class had a 20th anniversary reunion. I blame it on Facebook. Not that I consider this a bad thing: the people from my class with whom I am interested in staying in touch are connected to me and I enjoy seeing their updates and photos of their families and lives. I don’t have to spend an evening awkwardly holding a drink while I try to avoid the former classmates I would rather not keep up with.

Most of all, social media, especially Facebook, has changed the language of relationships. For example, “friend” is now used as a verb (as in, when you try to add someone to your contact list by sending them a friend request, you are “friending” them.).

At the same time, many prefer their relationships the old-fashioned way: in person, without the aid of computers or smartphones. After all, there is nothing like spending time with a special person face-to-face. And if I typed that last sentence as my Facebook status update, I am sure I would receive many “Likes” for it.