I've said it before and I'll say it again: social media is ruining relationships.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe there is a lot of good in social media. You get to keep in touch with family that is across the country, reconnect with old friends, and keep up to date with the daily lives of your friends without having to call them every day. For an introvert like me, it's perfect. However, there's a lot that's wrong with it too.

Social media has raised a generation of narcissists. We're all so obsessed with our outward presentation and how other people perceive us that we often forget to live in the moment. I'll never forget my trip to Ireland, as I looked around and witnessed people trying to capture the perfect selfie with just the right amount of scenery behind them. I had to laugh out loud as I watched them stand in all different types of positions and angle their phones multiple times before walking to the next photo worthy spot. None of these people were actually stopping to enjoy the scenery, only viewing it through their smart phone lens.

I feel as if this same phenomenon is occurring in relationships. It's all over the internet, memes about "side pieces," men looking at other girls hoping their girlfriend don't find out, and endless jokes on men and women cheating on one another. The internet has glorified disloyalty and no one is outraged by it. I can't scroll through my vine feed without seeing at least one video making a joke out of a guy trying to not check out another girl while with his girlfriend, as if being faithful and respecting one girl is just the worst. I feel as if people can easily access other people on the internet, so when their relationship isn't perfect they seek out attention elsewhere.

We see men and women in relationships with great people, who talk to other people on the internet and don't see anything wrong with it because they aren't "touching." We see men who check out other girls right in front of their girlfriends, as if she isn't worth keeping their eyes on. We see girls accepting that behavior, and accepting the excuse, "That's just what boys do."

I saw a meme on Facebook the other day that really made me think about how consumed with social media our generation has become. It was a meme of a girl sitting in a bed (obviously not amused) wearing sunglasses. The caption read, "when he don't respond to your text message from 13 minutes ago but he opened your snap story five minutes ago and liked six pictures on Instagram in the last 10 minutes." The sad truth is that is EXACTLY how things work these days. We have so many different platforms to communicate with each other that it sometimes becomes too much.

People don't go on dates they "Netflix and chill." Men call women "hoe" and "bitch" like it's a compliment, and women aren't any better. Our generation has become so obsessed with keeping up their social presence online they they often deprive their actual relationships.

So if you're lucky enough to be with someone who respects you, put down your smart phones and enjoy each other's company.