Dangerous Apps for your Marriage

Social Networks may bring you closer to people and help you form relationships, but they can also injure or destroy relationships you have.

Oh Social Media, your a blessing and a curse.

With everything and anyone being a click away - you play a dangerous game.

Think about it, what did you do on Social Networks before you were in a relationship? At one point or another you used it to connect to people, to flirt, or communicate with people privately.

Things like messenger, snapchat, twitter DM, private email, and messaging apps are especially concerning.

The best way to prevent problems with these things is to first understand why its a problem. You may think its harmless. Your not using them in ways that are secretive or suspicious. You trust your partner and they trust you. Etc.. Ect…

However, its always better to prevent a situation from happening then trying to fix it afterwards.

Even though you may never send something questionable, that doesn't mean someone wouldn't send something to you. And it doesn't mean theres not a little part in the back of your mind that wonders what if your partner is keeping things from you? And they may think the same.

Below are steps you should take now to prevent social media from potentially having the ability to negatively effect your relationship.

1. Discuss with your partner why you think its important. Don't make them feel like you don't trust them, or they shouldn't trust you. Only express that you want everything in your relationship to be 100% open and honest, and you feel like its best to 'Share' your "online-life" as transparently as your "real-life".
2. Delete Accounts from risky Networks and Apps. Snapchat is one of the worst. Anything that sends private content should be considered.
3. Open Mutual Accounts. If you want to keep Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Make a mutual account that you both use and delete your personal ones. My spouse and I have a Facebook page together, so when people message him or I we both get notified and can see the messages. Also, because both our names are on the page, people know that they can't message me something and not have him see it and vice versa. 
4.  Make all your social Networks Passwords the same. So you both have the login info and access to them constantly. Allowing each other the ability to check in on things without you knowing gives them peace of mind that nothing would happen you wouldn't want them to know about. We both have personal accounts on certain sites, but I can check on his and he can login to mine. Same goes for our emails.
5. Be comfortable with using/playing with each others phones. If your not willing to let him use your phone or pick it up and be on it whenever he wants theres probably a reason why. And the same goes for his phone. 
6. Remove Exes. Delete their numbers. Unfriend them. And don't keep communication with them. Simple as that.

And most importantly "Don't ever be afraid to tell your spouse if someone sends you something inappropriate or that makes you uncomfortable. Don't try to hide it. And don't feel guilty if you didn't instigate it." 

2 weeks after our wedding I got a text in the middle of the night. It was from a guy I used to date about a year before I met my husband. It took a minute before I knew what he sent, but once I saw what he had texted me I freaked out and deleted it right away. I was scared that if my husband saw the nude he would blame me, and it would hurt our relationship. So instead I tried to hide it and forget about it. 

When I finally did tell him it was terrible because the fact that I tried to hide it made me look guilty, and it created a trust barrier in our relationship. He always wanted to go through my messages after that. I deleted snapchat and any way someone could ever send something like that to me again. And I changed my number. 

Neither of us had caused this, but that didn't prevent someone else from causing us a problem in our relationship through private social connections.

Relationships require sacrifice and one of those sacrifices is your Social Media Connections.