Best Ways to Break Up

By: Kaylani Levine

Breakups can be nasty, and for sure they can be awkward. No one wants to do it or experience it, but it’s all a part of life and relationships. Although there are no certainties in love, are there certainties in a breakup? Is there a protocol or unwritten code of ethics that should be followed when breaking up with someone? With all the technology we have today, things can become even more complicated. Let’s talk about some of the most common and best ways to break up.

Face-to-face- This is one of the more classic ways to break up. This method of exit allows you and your soon to be ex to exchange thoughts and concerns, and where to go from that point. Tone of voice and underlying meaning are hard to be misconstrued in this method, thus making face-to-face break ups a positive. Most people would rather hear it from the source, thus making this one of the best ways to break up.

Over the phone- We hold casual and business conversations on the phone on a daily basis. So when it comes to breaking up, this may not be such a bad idea. If you’re not completely sure how your mate will handle it, or you don’t want to be affected by the sad look on their face, make good use your phone. If all else fails and your ex gets irate, hanging up is always an option.

Email- Airing all of your dirty laundry via e-mail is not the best of choices. E-mails can be manipulated, printed out, and circulated around. Leave the e-mail blurbs to your professors and people in the office. This could get ugly, and fast!

Facebook- There are many options to the Facebook breakup. Send a message, a wall post, honesty box message, or officially make your marital status “single”. Whatever option you choose, choose carefully, the backlash could be brutal. Breaking up via Facebook is definitely one of the more shady methods of ending your romance. If you think this is the best way to break up and don’t mind your ex bashing you to everyone on the internet, go for it.

Text Messaging- We’re all addicted to sending text messages so, why not send your breakup through the air waves? Problem #1, what if it doesn’t send? It’s happened before! Leave the text message break up to someone with less courage. Secondly, text messages can often be read in the wrong context and may seem so much worse than it really is.

Tell a friend, to tell a friend- Not directly dealing with a situation may play in your favor in some cases. If you got your partner by telling their friends you were interested, why not break it off in the same manner? The messenger may get shot, but it won’t be a fatal wound in this case, especially if they’ve known your mate for a long time. I’d choose this method if you wanted to steer clear of any direct heat you may get from opposing forces.

Pretend it never happened- Sometimes we like to cope with things by denying they ever happened. With a relationship that is a hard thing to accomplish, especially if you are trying to break it off by ignoring the situation. Just because you pretend to not remember anything doesn’t mean your partner, or anyone else that knows you, will go for it! Keep it cordial and classy, and leave this method to something a little less serious, like tripping in front of a crowd. By far this is not the best way to break up!