Love and Dependence: Social Relationships in the Age of Social Media Depicted in Normal People by Sally Rooney

Abstract

Sally Rooney's Normal People is a series that intimately chronicles the evolution of Marianneand Cornell's relationship, depicting the disjointed evolution of the relationship, underscoring thecomplexities and dynamics that characterize their relationship. This research aims to understand moredeeply and provide a comprehensive exploration of how characters' emotional and psychologicalexperiences can reinforce or reduce anxiety and uncertainty due to the influence of social media. Theproblem studied is how the character's behavior from the impact of social medical in the character's socialrelationship. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method involving literary sociology and FreudSigmund's defense mechanism approach. The primary data of the research is visual and verbal data fromthe Normal People series, while secondary data is from literature relevant to the topic. The results of thestudy emphasize the role of communication in the maintenance of healthy relationships, and the presenceof tensions and misunderstandings in the interactions between Connell and Marianne.The researchconcludes that Normal People shows the importance of a diverse approach to understanding humanrelationships today.