compulsivedancer Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 We quietly switched our statuses to "separated." Facebook has the option for it not to appear in your news feed. I do get this though. Several years ago, after announcing on a Facebook that I was pregnant, I had a miscarriage, which I did NOT announce. For several months after, I would run into people who would ask about the baby. It was excruciating for everyone. Link to post Share on other sites
chimpanA-2-chimpanZ Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I don't have a Facebook account but to hear my friends tell it, the anguish of splitting up over social media can be the hardest part of the breakup. When my boyfriend broke up with his last girlfriend, whom he'd dated for nearly four years, she told him she felt like a failure and couldn't bear the thought of suddenly having separate online lives that didn't involve being tagged in each other's pictures, posting about events together, and so on. While I understand that I also think it's a sad example of how social media can take over people's lives. Most couples I know avoid this drama by setting their relationship status to "private" (even if they're married!) and limiting public posts about their relationships. I think a polite, respectful, timely, "Hey everybody, Jane and I have decided to part ways. We wish each other all the best and want our friends to know we're still happy to see each other out and about, so don't feel weird about inviting us both to events. Peace!" Would be nice. Particularly if the couple has been together a long time. That is beautifully written and I completely agree IF both parties feel that way, but that's not always the case. To use my boyfriend's last relationship as an example again: when he broke up with her, he was fine with it and happy to hang out with her as friends. She was not. She was heartbroken and pissed, but felt like she had to pretend that it was A-OK and they were good friends. It made it much harder for her to heal. So while I think your suggested post is pretty awesome, it also inadvertently demonstrates part of the issues with social media---that people feel the need to tell the whole world they're just fine when they really aren't. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts