The rise of social media has truly changed the way we interact as humans. While this can open up a lot of good, it also means that some less than ideal side effects come along the way. One of the things we tend to see are gratuitous posts about family, namely spouses or spouses to be.
Spouses Or Best Friends?
We all know those kinds of social media posts and how they go. “So #blessed to be spending the rest of my life with my #bestfriend” — and so forth. Now, while that is a wonderful sentiment and there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone feeling this way about their spouse, but it can often set up and unrealistic, and sometimes damaging, expectation for the way a relationship should be.
While describing someone as your “best friend” means that you value their friendship more than anyone else’s, is that exactly how we want to describe the relationship we have with our spouses? In some ways, the phrase might even seem like an insufficient title and not an appropriate way to describe a loving, spousal relationship.
Your best friends are some of the most important people in your life and there is simply no denying that. However, should your relationship with your spouse really be placed in the same category? At the end of the day, even with your closest best friends, you are not sharing a life with them. Hopefully, you feel that you are sharing and paving a life together with your partner, and that deserves to be regarded differently than a “best friend.”
Perhaps this is why we have different titles for our spouses and partners than just “friends.” Maybe that’s why we make the distinction between “guy friend” and “boyfriend.” For better or worse, maybe it’s important to make the distinction in order to honor your relationships with your best friends separately from how you honor your relationship with your spouse.
What do you think about this issue?
How Do You Define Your Relationship?
