Dr. Nkundimfura warns that constantly consuming negative content about marriage can create fear among young people.
Dr. Rosette Nkundimfura is the founder and representative of Girls’ Leaders Forum (GLF), and she is also a family and marriage counselor. Currently, she is a mother and has been married to her husband for more than 11 years.
She noted that many videos online focus on complaints about husbands or wives rather than balanced perspectives about relationships.
“The problem we have today is that happy families do not go to television or social media to show it, while those who failed are the ones rushing to YouTube to show how difficult marriage is,” she said.
She mentioned this while explaining why young people should not rely only on testimonies from those who failed to build their families, but instead should be thoughtful and wise, because there are many people out there who are living happily and whose families are strong.
She said, “Marriage is good, and let me repeat it, it is good. The advice I would give to those who wish to start a family is that they should stay away from people who failed to maintain their marriages, because there are also others who built families and they are strong.”
Because of this, she encourages youth to approach happy families social media discussions with caution and seek advice from balanced and experienced sources.
Citizens share their experiences with social media marriage stories
Some Rwandans who spoke with Afriwed Rwanda confirmed that negative marriage testimonies appear frequently online.
Niringiyimana Japhet, Kigali
Japhet says he often watches discussions on YouTube where people describe very difficult marriage experiences.
“That is where I often see testimonies of people explaining that marriage became extremely difficult for them.”
Murwanashyaka Nadia, Muhanga District
Nadia explains that she rarely sees discussions about happy marriages compared to stories of failed relationships.
“On almost all the social media platforms I use, it is rare to see people speaking about living happily in marriage.”
Itangishaka Emmanuel, Bugesera District
For Emmanuel, the constant negative testimonies online sometimes create fear about marriage.
“Some testimonies make you afraid of getting married because of how difficult they describe their experiences.”
Social media use in Rwanda
According to data about digital platforms in Rwanda, by the end of 2025 the country had around 1.35 million social media users.
These users actively engage on platforms such as: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Statistics published by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda show that youth aged 18 and above represent about 16.3% of social media users in the country.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Population and Housing Census indicates that among young people aged 16–30 years, around 69% are unmarried, while about 30% are married.
The need for balanced marriage narratives
Dr. Rosette Nkundimfura concludes that the absence of happy families social media stories can distort how young people view marriage.
She encourages couples who are living well to share positive examples and encourages youth to seek balanced perspectives rather than relying only on negative testimonies online.
Healthy families exist in large numbers, she says, even if they do not always appear on social media platforms.
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