The etiquette of breaking up in the digital age (poll)

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Nov 12, 2013

Listen • 11:33

The etiquette of breaking up in the digital age (poll)

What is the etiquette of ending relationships online and over social? Should that ever be done? Have you tried it?

Shoppers at a mall send text messages using mobile phones September 9, 2009. Consumers in the Philippines are up in arms over a plan in Congress to impose excise tax on text and multimedia messages sent through mobile phones. With some 70 million mobile phone users and up to 300 million messages criss-crossing across mobile networks, the Philippines is widely considered as the world's texting capital. AFP PHOTO / JAY DIRECTO (Photo credit should read JAY DIRECTO/AFP/Getty Images)

What is the etiquette of ending relationships online and over social? Should that ever be done? Have you tried it?

Russell Brand did it to Katy Perry a couple years ago, but breaking up over text message and social media is far from the exclusive domain of celebrities.

Ending a relationship face-to-face used to not be just the right thing to do, but the decent thing to do. But as we become more and more comfortable with negotiating our personal lives and intimate relationships online and over social media, many have opted to call it quits using these new platforms.

What are the etiquettes of ending things online and over social? Should that ever be done? Have you tried it?

Guest:

Jessica Carbino, a PhD. candidate in sociology at UCLA whose research focuses on online dating and she hosts and produces a weekly radio show on UCLA Radio called "Hook up With Dr. Jess"

Poll:

Credits