why you’re Facebook stalking your ex

Guys, it’s time to unfriend (Picture: Metro)
That moment when you realise you’ve lost four hours of your life painfully analysing your ex’s Facebook photos.
Yeah, that moment.
Researchers at the University of Hawaii and Ohio State University have been looking into why this happens to some people more than others.
They found that people who are more anxious and uncertain about their relationships tend to be more traumatised when they end.

And the more traumatised you are by a break-up, the more likely you are to monitor your previous partner’s social media accounts.
Which is pretty obvious stuff really: If you’re still obsessing over where things went wrong, you’re far more likely to be trying to understand the break-up through social media.

The study also highlights the fact that fretting over your old flame’s internet presence is detrimental to your mental wellbeing, which is also pretty obvious.
The study authors wrote: ‘The present results suggest that individuals most traumatised by a breakup are most likely to monitor their ex-partners online, which previous research indicates may further postpone their emotional recovery.
‘Practically, this finding indicates that individuals experiencing a high level of distress from a break-up should consider disconnecting from the ex-partner.’
As you’d expect, Facebook stalking prolongs emotional distress as you excessively reflect on what could have been and compare yourself to their new squeeze.
The best thing to do is click the unfriend button and move on