The concept of social media has assumed greater influence and legitimacy in our 21st century global communication. It has become ubiquitous in our everyday communication, business interactions and an important aspect of our everyday life. The advancement of social media has created a new paradigm that influences every aspect of society from communication with each other, dating, spiritual, retail, education, appointments, and nearly every aspect of one’s life has been affected by social media. The growth of social media across the global socio-political and business landscape has influenced every aspect of our dating and relationship lifestyle. In fact, it has facilitated instant communication and exchange of information globally. Specifically, it has facilitated easier access to information and enhanced communication across a broader spectrum of our socio-cultural lifestyle. It is a form of online communication platform that facilitates common interactions among diverse groups of individuals and communities (Kunz & Hackworth, 2011). Beyond the sharing of information and communication online, social media has a far-reaching impact on our 21st century society because of the increasing trend at which relationships are developed and formed. The interactions that occur on social media is primarily the result of the relationships that exist among families, friends, and work colleagues.
The capacity to foster online communication that goes beyond geographical boundaries is a major driver of social media’s defining influence on relationships among individuals and communities. Social media interaction has been argued to be the most common and fastest means to developing and fostering long - distance relationships, which often overlook the cultural and geographical barriers. Over the past decade, most social relationships in the realm of politics, business and personal interactions have often been channelled by means of a social media communication (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011).
Since the launch of Facebook and Twitter in the first decade of the 21st century, there has been a steady increase in new social media sites such as Foursquare, Spotify, Tumblr, Instagram, snapchat, twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Vine and WhatsApp. Current social media sites have been created to meet the need of online dating and making friends based on an individual’s social and career interest. “Social media has come to deeply penetrate our lives: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other platforms define many of our daily habits of communication and creative production” (Van Dijck, 2013). Van Dijck argues that “culture of connectivity” and terms like “friending”, “trending” and “sharing” have taken on different meanings in our social media culture.