With our generation has come new ways of communication: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. And with these social media sites has come a new set of expectations.

As a public relations major, I do love social media. It’s a great way to brand yourself while showing you’re technology savvy and can think outside of the box. However, I hate the way it has changed our “millennial” generation.

Thanks to social media, I can’t say anything about my relationship without being asked if it’s “Facebook official.” Does anyone else realize how stupid that sounds?

According to Science of Relationships, couples who are “Facebook official” say they are more satisfied in their relationship. Though the article doesn’t exactly explain how these couples are happier, it does mention the idea of showing friends and family a positive portrayal of said relationship.

Think about it – we only post things on Facebook that reflect good experiences. For example, photos from formals, a status about a new internship or a link to your latest article. If you’re in a fight with your significant other, (hopefully) you’re not posting it for the world to see. And when times are tough, it’s easy to go back to your Timeline and see what appears to be a happy relationship.

I mean, I do get the appeal of sharing a new, exciting relationship with your friends. And I’m not saying I’ll never put that I’m “in a relationship” on Facebook. But just as easily as it can spread joy, it can also bring in unnecessary drama.

Sure, it’s exciting for the first few days to see how happy all of your friends are for you. But when 1,000 Facebook friends know who you’re dating, it’s hard to keep the relationship between two people. An article on xojane.com put it best … dating someone can be difficult enough.

Even though I haven’t put my most recent relationship status on Facebook, I still deal with a lot of meddling in my dating life. I’ve been seeing someone for the past couple months, and I don’t think there’s been a day during that time where I haven’t been asked if we’ve DTRed or “defined the relationship.” I’m perfectly happy, with or without a label.

Although I appreciate my friends’ concern or enthusiasm (I’m not really sure at this point) about my relationship, people need to realize that relationships of any kind are a private matter. I’ll probably still share the funny things he texted me with my roommates, of course. But going out of your way to see whether or not we are “Facebook official” just isn’t cool. A new relationship of any kind is exciting, but at the end of the day, it’s just between two people.

So, the next time you go to ask your friend if her and her significant other have DTRed, think about how you would feel if someone were meddling in your relationship. Two people can be very happy without a label on their relationship – maybe even happier than those who are “Facebook official.”