According to teens now, the dating world is full of Snapchats, Instagram DMs, or even Twitter DMs. This is the new form of dating; digital messages to your ‘significant other’ using social media to get their attention and communicate with them. When I say this I am not saying every couple born in the late 90s and early 2000s is incapable of dating, but most teens are just used to the dating culture they have made for themselves. This means communicating over text and rarely using simple social skills in a relationship, which can put a huge strain on someone’s mental health, how they develop as a person, and how their relationships are.

The effects of this dating method could be a number of things. Not putting labels on relationships could confuse the two parties involved in the relationship, leaving them up at night tossing and turning wondering why their significant other isn’t responding or why they are mad at them for liking that girl or guy’s picture. This pressure on teens in some of the most confusing years of life packs stress on like bricks.

When in a negatively structured relationship it isn’t always easy to notice the problems both partners are causing. The people in the relationship could be totally blind to what they are doing to someone they care about. They don’t see the effects of their actions because the majority of communications are through social media. The problem with this is the way the message is portrayed could be different then the intentions.

Another effect labeless dating has on the people in the relationship is the unknown. The unknown is not knowing what your what your partner is doing. Cheating is easy to do and easier to cover up and get away with. It’s very easy to ignore or ‘ghost’ their significant other on social media if that’s all they use to communicate through. This can cause trust issues in relationships or even the ending of them before they started by using the easy excuse of “we aren’t even dating.” Cheating has become the new normal for relationships and loyalty is getting harder and harder to find in a relationship when it should be the first thing in the relationship.

Research from Keck medicine at USC has even proven a bad relationship where both partners are not being treated how they should, could mean one partner is putting little to no effort in the relationship and causing a strain but the other partner is putting forth everything they have to offer. This is what causes problems, one major problem from bad relationships is the mental struggle.

According to Forbes, the Keck Medicine at USC “the negative health effects of a bad relationship can hurt more than your feelings.”

Another example of the effects of a rotten relationship is from MSN.com that had input from multiple doctors who have done research over the topic, stated, “If you’re feeling depressed, you’re feeling like you want to avoid them, you’re crying a lot, if you’re not feeling good about it or you don’t want to be with them, or you worked really hard to rationalize to yourself why it is a good relationship– these are all signs the relationship is taking a toll on your emotional health,” said Dr. Bartell. These statements from certified professionals are just a small portion of the research that is done on the effects of a relationship gone south. This just shows why our generation might need to rethink how we date.

Circumstances like these are what can crush a person and cause a lack of trust. This is why teens always hear their parents or teachers say how much better dating was in their day, because it truly was. The confusion of not knowing is what tears people apart. As humans we want to be all knowing in everything we do, but in our relationships it is like we could care less how serious our human to human relationships are. Generation Z dating needs to mean something more, we need to learn the meaning of a good relationship, not just kiss and tell.