More relationships are ending via Facebook, survey finds

Facebook has wormed its privacy-obliterating way into many areas of our lives, it would seem, and the messy arena of romantic disentanglements is just another place you can expect to see the social networking giant in the future.

Have you ever been dumped over Facebook? If you haven’t, it’s pretty much inevitable. According to a SNAP Interactive (the makers of iPhone dating app “Are YOU Interested?”), a survey of 1000 users- 70% male and 30% female- indicates that Facebook “Dear John” letters are joining emails and texts as new digital ways to leave your lover. The stats are totally not getting laid tonight:

Nearly 25% of respondents have found out their relationship was over by seeing it on Facebook first.

Nearly 21% of respondents said they would break up with someone through Facebook by changing their status to single.

Nearly 40% of respondents have updated their status on Facebook so the person they’re dating sees they have plans.

Nearly 35% of respondents have used their Facebook status to make someone think they have plans, even if they don’t.

So even if a Facebook dumping isn’t in the cards, you might have experienced a boyfriend or girlfriend brush-off via status update. While only a quarter of those surveyed say that they’ve been let go from a relationship that way, nearly half passive-aggressively use it to not hang out with the person they’re dating. But then you can fall into the category of the 35% of people who use it to say they didn’t want to hang out, anyway.

Have you used Facebook to give a significant other their walking papers? Have you gotten the elbow via status update? Let us know in the comments.

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