Break ups and the internet: Facebook etiquette

In the days before social media, post break ups were only awkward if you ran into each other at the supermarket (and when does that ever actually happen). But now, not only do have to tell friends and family when a relationship is over, you also have to break up online as well.

Unless you’ve always had your relationship status private on Facebook, chances are a whole lot of people are going to notice if you’re no longer in a relationship with someone. While your close friends probably already know what the low-down is, you’ll have those who feel the urge to comment on this not-so-happy change in your life.

But, luckily, you can change your relationship status without alerting your friends. Hopefully you want to deal with a break up as quietly as possible. Quietly change your relationship status and select the “only me” option in the privacy settings.

If you’re going for the clean break, you can decide whether to unfriend or block your former significant other, as well as any of their friends or family members.

The next step is big and could take a bit more time. You might want to go through all your photos and delete any of the two of you or untag yourself from any that aren't yours. Cleaning up your page is like cleaning your room; it just makes things better.

Now that you’re all de-cluttered and ex free, resist the urge to Facestalk the ex or any potential new partners. Have a clean break. And also, resist the urge to talk about your break up online as well. Remember, Facebook is not your diary and people will think your weird and will probably say “um, no wonder you’re single”, and no one likes that.