Social networking websites are an integral part of today’s online dating scene, both as resources for finding potential partners and communication tools for sharing relationship information with your circle of friends. All of this connectivity is generally a pretty good thing, at least as long as your relationship is in good standing.

But what happens if your relationship ends? How have Facebook and other social networking websites influenced the way people break up in today’s world?

It’s not unheard of for one person to break up with their partner via Facebook rather than doing it face to face. As cold as that seems, for some people it seems perfectly natural to use social networking for that purpose; they use it for all of their other communication purposes, so why not use it to end a relationship?

Even if the break up does occur face to face, Facebook and other social networking sites often create situations where the hurt (and hurtful actions) can continue to go back and forth for a very long time. How quickly does he change his status to single? How fast does she take down the pictures of him from her page? When will either of them post new pictures of a new love interest, and how will each of them react to this action? And we haven’t even begun to talk about the issue of friends choosing sides over whatever happened to cause the relationship to end.

Overall, the best advice I can give you is to avoid using Facebook or any other social networking website to break up with a partner or to get back at a partner following a break up. Although it might be very tempting, keep in mind that the hurt this approach can cause will nearly always create even more issues and problems down the road.

Breaking Up Facebook, Social Networking

The world is full of songs (some good, some bad) about breaking off relationships for all kinds of reasons. If only it were as easy as some of them make it out to be! The reality is that you’re probably going to go through several different potential partners before finding that really special one, so sooner or later you’re going to have to face up to it.

You’re just not feeling it with a particular person and you want to break it off – now what?

Breaking up is hard to do (my apologies to Neil Sedaka) but it’s not impossible to do if you go about it the right way. While there’s no single “best” way to end it and move on, there are some general things to keep in mind:

1. Be honest. This is really, really, really hard to do. It’s tough to honestly tell someone you’re not interested in seeing them anymore, so it’s tempting to make something up. Don’t give in to this temptation because it’s only going to end up badly. It’s far better to open a conversation, share your honest feelings, and exit the situation gracefully.

2. Do it in person. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but if you can do it in person that’s the best choice. This doesn’t mean spending a long evening together and then springing it on the other person at the end, but it does mean having the courage to say what you need to say to his or her face.

3. Never burn a bridge. Old advice for sure, but still valid in today’s world. Never end a relationship by saying or doing mean things to the other person, even if it’s really, really tempting to do so. It’s a small dating world out there, and if you treat someone badly during a break up I can almost guarantee it will come back to haunt you at some point.

Breaking Up Breaking Up, Feelings, Rejection

If you’re in a relationship right now that’s not making you happy, maybe it’s time to take some advice from the current economic crisis and FIRE your significant other.

That’s right. If they’re not doing their job and you’re not interested in waiting for them to learn to change, it’s time to give them the boot, a pink slip, a kick in the behind.

It’s time to get fired up to do some firing.

• Make a list of their offenses – Before you talk to your soon to be ex, it’s time to sit and think about what you don’t like about them or about the way they are in the relationship.
• Make a list of their good qualities – But if you’re going to at least give your significant other a chance of saying with you, you need to think about the redeeming qualities they have too. You might be surprised at how much you do like.
• Think about a trial run – Just like a poor performance review, you might want to give your significant other a second chance to improve within a certain time frame. If they don’t improve, they’re gone.

Firing your significant other sounds harsh, and maybe it is. But if you’re not happy, it’s time to downsize your relationship.

Breaking Up Breaking Up, Rejection, Relationship