When a romantic partnership ends, it’s typically very easy to prevent undesirable or uneasy personal contact with your ex-lover. That’s not the case on Facebook. Earlier this week, Facebook unveiled new tools it is currently developing to ease the stress of a breakup. Though it is easy to avoid your ex in person after a breakup, avoiding them on Facebook is not so easy. The new tools will help with this transition.
Facebook was not the first to develop this technology: Google Photos and Facebook’s On This Day allow you to conceal pictures of previous paramours. Facebook’s modifications fly in the face of other tools, though; you will be permitted to hand pick whether and exactly how to neglect your past loves. While it’s not ideal, Facebook’s brand-new system is definitely smarter and also swifter. You alter your status and then, boom – there’s Facebook, asking if you want to hide your ex in every feasible way electronically possible.
You could ask Facebook to quit recommending the person’s name when tagging images or people in updates as well, so it’s not restricted to shielding your fragile psychological state from your ex’s prattling. Of course, you could always just unfriend your ex, but who wants to do something so uncivilized? “We hope these tools will help people end relationships on Facebook with greater ease, comfort, and sense of control,” says Facebook product manager Kelly Winters.
One thing to keep in mind is that these tools can be utilized for numerous relationships. The prompt to use the tools will pop up after you change your relationship status. However, also of note is the fact that these tools are only being tested for Facebook’s mobile application, and only in the United States. It is unclear if and/or when they will be made available on the website and worldwide.
“The more reminders you have of your ex, the harder it is to get over them; out of sight, out of mind,” says Tara Marshall, who has studied how surveillance of an ex on Facebook affects the breakup process. She discovered that the people who maintained detailed surveillance of their exes had unfavorable feelings for longer periods of time, greater sexual desires toward that person, and difficulties moving forward. People who refrain from stalking their exes on Facebook tended to move on sooner and more easily. Cheers to you, Facebook.