Breaking Up Is Hard To Do...Especially For Teens on Facebook

By drodriguez Aug 10, 2011

Breakups are hard, especially for teenagers who have little experience with matters of the heart. Add a public forum, like Facebook, to the mix where all your friends are eager to hear gossip about who’s dating who, complete with corresponding images of the couple in question...things can get a lot more complicated.

The New York Times recently reported about a conference in Massachusetts, sponsored by the Boston Public Health Commission, for teenagers to discuss Facebook breakup etiquette.

The idea of holding an educational conference on the topic of Facebook etiquette is fairly new, but probably beneficial to a generation of teens whose parents have no frame of reference of what it’s like to navigate the high school dating scene over social media. Dating so publicly leaves a lot more opportunities to be humiliated in front of their entire peer group, which to a teen could mean they feel the whole world is watching.

The teens who attended the conference discussed whether things like changing your relationship status immediately after a breakup is healthy or unhealthy behavior. Turns out that this may not be the healthiest behavior and a “technology timeout” is probably a better idea.

Roberto, one of the teen attendees, did not agree with the idea of a “technology timeout” after a breakup. Roberto explains to his peers, “When I’m done with a relationship, I’m not going to wait a day, an hour or even 10 minutes to update my status. When it’s over, it’s over. I’m done with you.”

Other unhealthy but common Facebook breakup behavior includes posting embarrassing status updates about your ex and rushing into a new relationship just to post about it on your wall for all to see.

Do you think teaching teens about Facebook breakup etiquette will benefit them?

What do you consider to be unhealthy breakup behavior on Facebook?

Tell us about your experiences with dating and social media!