Last month, a one-day conference on “healthy break-ups” was held in Boston. A large portion of the conference was dedicated to Facebook etiquette, as text messaging and facebook have become the most common methods teens now use to break up.
The Boston Public Health Commission sponsored this event that spoke about the do’s and don’ts of breaking up on Facebook. They discovered that some teen’s ideas of Facebook etiquette were different than others’. There were discussions, especially when one 17 year old boy declared “racing to update your relationship status after a breakup” is a healthy behavior.
Questions pondered during the event were: How fast do you change your relationship status? How soon do you delete pictures of your ex? Is it alright to ‘unfriend’ your ex or your ex’s family? And the big question – Is it ethical to change your status to single before informing your boyfriend/girlfriend that it’s over?
Breakups can be difficult no matter how they are handled, but Nicole Daley, the conference organizer said “No one talks to young people about this aspect of relationships, we’re here to change that.” Another adult facilitator wore a pin to the event that read “Face It, Don’t Facebook It.”
The teens debated posting negative statuses about your ex, rushing into another official facebook relationship, and jealousy over other friends comments. They viewed pictures and videos of celebrity splits that were deemed ‘healthy splits’ versus negative ones.
Conference hosts emphasized face-to-face breakups and attempting to do so in healthy mature ways. Humiliating someone isn’t the best Facebook etiquette. In my opinion, why not start facing hard situations now? They’re not going to get easier as life goes on!