We’ve all been there. Getting over a breakup is difficult enough, but resisting having a quick gander at your exes on social media is a hard ask in itself. Because, well, it’s right there!
‘She never used to go to that club night when we were together’. ‘Is that his new girlfriend?!’ ‘I think they’re just friends’. These are just a few phrases that can pepper our Friday night pub chat with our BFFs, after just a few hours ‘checking in’ with our former partners on their Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter.
But according to a new study published to the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, psychologist Tara Marhall found that this post-relationship ‘surveillance’ can be more self destructive than we think.
‘Participants who remained Facebook friends with the ex-partner, relative to those who did not remain Facebook friends, reported less negative feelings, sexual desire, and longing for the former partner, but lower personal growth,’ Tara says.
‘Overall, these findings suggest that exposure to an ex-partner through Facebook may obstruct the process of healing and moving on from a past relationship.’
So there you have it, while it’s tempting and possibly even comforting to have a little creep on your exes cyber space – in real life following an ex on social media could affect our future relationships.
Translation: we definitely need to give our social media a spring clean ASAP.
And if you’re still not ready to completely unfollow your ex and find yourself in the danger zone – watch a film on Netflix instead.
All the drama - without the headache.
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