Should you announce your break-up on social media?
We live in a very digital world, almost everything we do, we do online. This includes updating our friends, family and the world with what we had for lunch, pet videos, and, yes, even our relationship status.
The consequences of living your life publicly, especially your romantic relationships, is that when things do not go well, there is almost a burden of giving your followers an update.
This burden is not only limited to the rich and famous, who release carefully drafted press releases to send out to the world about the ending of their relationships or marriages.
READ: Cardi B files for divorce
In general, celebrity couples opt for the ‘joint statement’ approach, which is fine for them, seeing as they have managers to release them for them. Some like to take matters into their own hands through platforms they own, like the time Gwyneth Paltrow announced she and Chris Martin had ‘consciously uncoupled’ in a Goop newsletter.
Whether you are rich or famous, announcing to the world that your relationship has ended is not an easy task. From how much you say to how much you omit to whether you should share anything at all.
If you were a couple who constantly updated your social media feeds with pictures and videos of you and your significant other, people are going to notice once those updates stop. Decent people won’t blatantly ask you about your relationship status, but they will be wondering.
JSbu has made a concerted effort to keep his romantic relationship out of the public eye, mainly to protect his partner's privacy. Whereas for Stacey, it is more of because her partner is not really keen on the taking of pictures. JSbu believes one of the best ways to protect yourself from the awkwardness of a split on social media is by not posting that much about the relationship in the first place.
I do not have a single picture of my current or ex partners on any of my social medias. I just do not see the need for it.
Stacey feels that public break-up announcements can be tricky, depending on how the amicable the break-up was. Also, you and your ex might have to discuss on whether one of you announces the break-up or you both do. You want to remain as respectful as possible, so again how the relationship ended is important.
Stacey's parting shot is this:
Always ask yourself, who are you doing the announcement for and what are you trying to convey with this? Are you posting from a place of negativity, and are you trying to hurt that person? And how are you going to feel about it five years later?
What are your thoughts, KZN? Should you announce your break-up on social media?
Listen to the podcast to hear what KZN had to say:
For more from #Stacey&JSbu, check out past episodes below: