If I was to lead a workshop on campus I would emphasize the importance of communication and intersectionality that could create conflicts in relationships. This particular one I would like to emphasize on having teens to participate since dating in high school is pretty dramatic. The icebreaker will be Fear in a hat. Everyone gets one piece of paper and write their own fears onto the paper then places it onto the hat. I will ask for volunteers to read some of the fears in the hat out loud if there are none then I will read a couple of them depending on how big the group is. As the fears are being read out loud people will step out of the circle if they feel that this fear relates to them or have ever thought about it. In the end of the section we will see how far and close they are from their partners which shows that their fears are going to affect them if they do not communicate this. I will ask the group what did they notice? Were you surprised by the outcome? Or what surprised you? How can we face these fears?
The purpose of this activity is that I want people to visually see that by not communicating their concerns could create conflict and make them drift apart. Especially on the topic about social media uses and how that affects the relationship. As silly as it sounds to have conflict about social media usage there are conflicts when a girlfriend finds out their boyfriend liked some girls picture on Instagram or Facebook. According to Teen Voices in the Digital age “47% have expressed their attraction by liking, commenting or otherwise interacting with that person on social media”(2015) therefore it makes perfect sense as to why their partner is angry at them. This also adds on why their partner’s or significant other does not answer their phone but has time to like a girl’s picture. There is “85% of teen daters expected to hear from their significant other at least once a day, and 11% expect to hear from them hourly” (2015). I think the purpose of this is to feel secure in the relationship and knowing that its not one-sided. Nobody likes conflict in person or through technology.
A couple of solutions that I came up with are to communicate with your partner about their use of social media or if they even use it at all. Second, I think that people should limit themselves from using too much social media and updating people on their life. According to Pews Research Center, “teens who have access to mobile technology are more likely to be involved in conflicts that originate online or in text messages”. I also find this to be true for when friends argue through text or if there was misinterpretation about what someone has said which could escalate to bigger conflicts. Therefore setting boundaries from using your phone and understanding one another is a good way to avoid conflicts.
References
Teen Voices: Dating in the Digital Age. Pew Research Center. (2015, October 01). Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/online-romance/
Lenhart, A. (2015, August 06). Chapter: Conflict, Friendships and Technology. Pew Research Center.
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