THIS SOCIAL MEDIA LOVE

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. 

Daniel 12:4 KJV

Bryan met Tracy on twitter a couple of months ago and after a series of tweeting and retweeting some of their common interest, they seemed to strike something they called love. They started off a relationship and continued to communicate online. To Tracy, Bryan was so different from all the guys she had dated. His sense of humor was just great, the way they connected via chats and direct messages (DM) was something amazing. He had a way of captivating her with his words that made her so fall for him and she was glad they both had started off something which looked promising and obviously their first one-on-one meeting was going to seal their love. The day came, the dinner went mainly sumptuous but both Bryan and Tracy had discovered some truths about each other that was masked by those online loving. Was this where they called it quits or was there any hope?

Natalie was just a sixteen year old who was in college at the time. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend Chad who thought it wise to rush into another relationship with Natalie's classmate, Monique all because since Natalie broke his heart, he was definitely going to pay her back in her own coin by making her jealous. Natalie knew what Chad was up to but she didn't care, she was totally done with him. Nothing he would say or do would make her go back to him.

Natalie also needed to fill in the

space that Chad left. She needed another man in her life. She couldn't imagine not being loved and caressed by a man. The thought of that made her get to become attached emotionally to a guy named Shawn she met via Facebook. Shawn looked decent and really cool. His body frame was like that of the sexiest man alive.  They both had been chatting for a week before Shawn requested to meet her in person.

They finally met in Shawn's Chevrolet one early Friday. They both looked like what they were expecting to see.  At first, Natalie didn't like the odor Shawn was exuding, she just had to keep quiet after all, it was the first time they were meeting. As they talked, Shawn bent over to kiss Natalie. She welcomed the kiss as she managed to hold her breath but as Shawn kept the kiss on and at this time had drawn her closer to him, Natalie snapped, "Erhm,  Shawn lets take things easy, you know this is our first time together". "Hey baby girl, why not? I can see you also want me so" He said as he leaned over to kiss her again but this time Natalie pushed him away but Shawn immediately hitting the auto-lock brought out a knife pointing it directly at her.

Many of such stories have been the case of people in search of love in times like this where social media has seemingly become the new world. The invention of the internet, smartphones, and gadgets which brought about Social media has allowed so many positive changes in the world today. It has been used for public relations, job searching, marketing and online businesses which have become huge and most importantly, have helped millions of people connect with ease, develop friendship and have helped some to be more confident but it also has its bad sides. So many people tend to portray what they are not, parading superficial, fake and artificial live majority of the times.

No doubts that social media has definitely been a great tool for many aspects of human life but it might certainly not be the best way for finding or having love relationships. I know some might disagree on this because some have actually found their lovers and spouses on social media but the question is how many of those marriages have gone past the first few years of marriage, after the love and sizzling passion that engulfs newly married fizzle out? Let's be real and face it,  social media isn't the real world,  it's a virtual world where many people create the image that they want to convey through their activity on social media. It’s much easier to convey the “reality” that we want to portray on the Internet than to live it in real life. You don't expect to get something that ought to last forever from the virtual world of social media. Real love isn't something you get by the click of a mouse or by hitting the links, it's as tangible as nature around you. God knowing well that one day knowledge will be so vast, technology will take over the world already gave the blueprint of how true love should be encountered when in His word awoke Adam from deep sleep to behold a woman he had made from Adams innermost part of his being.

If you were thinking of committing to someone you met via social media just because they captivate you in a way you have never seen or experienced before or tired of thinking of dating the same faces you have been used to, think again. Friendships are okay via social media but to take it further you have got to be sure who they really are, get to meet them in person and please not in a secluded place, better still take a friend or family along. Find out what are their values, what are their goals and aspirations, what are their convictions, what matters most to them and what are their passions, what motivates them, have they encountered true love with Christ Jesus? 

Never be in a hurry when it comes to finding love. Many people like Natalie have met their death unfortunately because they were hungry for love with the wrong approach. If you must find love through social media, make sure you travel back to the real world before making that decision. Only when all these are answered correctly, only then can you give it a try? I wish you the very best in love.

Your Love Coach,

The Lovejunkie.