Moving on from a relationship, you once dreamed was going to be your last, can be extremely difficult. Breakups are emotional and you’re often left with so many unanswered questions as to what went wrong. It’s even harder, when your ex moves on quicker than you do and they start posting pictures of their new partner on social media.
Resisting the temptation to follow your partner’s new life is no easy task, but it’s important to think about how this habit is stopping you from moving on with your own life.
Many of us have been there – you and your partner break up, and low and behold a month later, they’re already “seeing” someone. As you listen to Robyn’s “Dancing on my own” on repeat, your mind starts firing off every possible thought:
- How long has he been dating her?
- What’s her IG? Does she know people I know?
- Did they meet when we were still dating?
- How did they meet?
- I need to creep her on social to see if she posts about him
- How serious are they?
- What does she have that I don’t?
- How is he over our breakup already?
- Has she met his family?
And the list goes on…
Creeping your ex is one thing, but going down the rabbit hole on your ex’s new partner’s social channels is next level. If you find yourself checking out your ex or their new gf for daily updates, there are a couple things you should do to maintain your sanity.
- Break up with your ex on social – remove them from your friends list and stop following them on Instagram. A clean break will give you time back in your day to focus on you and more productive activities.
- Cut down on social media time altogether: If removing your ex from all of your social feeds seems a little extreme to you, and you fear looking “dramatic”, you may want to actively take a step back from social media altogether and cut down on the hours you spend online. You can now set timers on your social accounts that will alert you when you’ve reached your max time limit.
- Delete your apps: Remove your Instagram / Facebook apps from your phone. This is a really good way to minimize screen time. This option, like the one above, takes some will power and you will have to actively stop yourself from downloading the apps again until you feel 100% ready.
Whatever you do, do not send your ex partner’s new girlfriend a friend request. This will come off as intrusive and strange. You do not know this person, nor do you want to insert yourself into their lives. Social media is great for keeping in touch with new and old friends, but when it comes to an ex, you have to create boundaries for yourself and follow them.
