Social media has made relationship breakups more complex and introduced new challenges. However, you can deal with the added weight of social media after a breakup.
Follow these tips to adjust your social media accounts to your new single status:
- Decide how (or if) you want to include your ex on your social media accounts. Are you friends on Facebook with your ex? Do you follow each other on Twitter? What about other social media networks?
- You have several options after a relationship ends. You can choose to unfollow and unfriend each other. You may even have to block each other. You may also choose to keep following each other. However, be aware of the consequences of each choice.
- If you choose to unfollow, unfriend, or block your partner, they’ll probably notice their exclusion. Will this action cause greater complications for you? How do you want to deal with their feelings, if at all?
- If you choose to keep following each other, consider how you’ll feel about future social media interactions. How will you handle seeing your ex with a new love? How will you feel about sharing your post-breakup stories and pictures? How will you react if your ex likes one of your posts?
- Consider options for shared social media accounts. Do you share an account with your former partner?
- You can close the account and delete all of the information.
- On the other hand, you may choose to keep the account and have one person take it over. If you take the account, it’s important to make it clear to your friends that the account is now only yours, so there’s less confusion.
- Update your relationship status. You may want to update your status and let your friends know that you’re single again.
- When you update your status, be prepared for questions about your breakup. If you don’t want to discuss the relationship, then add a message that makes it clear you won’t be answering any questions about the breakup.
- Avoid forcing friends to choose sides. After a breakup, you may have mutual friends who are placed in a difficult position.
- It’s important not to force your friends to choose sides or pick one of you to unfriend or unfollow on social media. This can create multiple issues and make the breakup more difficult for everyone involved.
- Determine what to do with social media photos. How do you want to handle photos of your ex on your personal social media accounts?
- You can leave the photos as a memory and ignore them. On the other hand, you may feel satisfaction after deleting and erasing all of the photos of your relationship. If it bothers you to see the pictures, then remove them.
- Your profile photo may need to be updated if it includes your ex. You may not want friends to think that you’re still together or trying to reconcile.
It’s important to consider the impact of social media on your breakup. Follow these steps to handle your social media accounts effectively so you can move forward toward better things.
This post is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered therapy. This blog is only for informational and educational purposes and should not be considered therapy or any form of treatment. We are not able to respond to specific questions or comments about personal situations, appropriate diagnosis or treatment, or otherwise provide any clinical opinions. If you think you need immediate assistance, call your local doctor/psychologist or psychiatrist or the SADAG Mental Health Line on 011 234 4837. If necessary, please phone the Suicide Crisis Line on 0800 567 567 or sms 31393.