Being a typical girl, I will openly admit that I have had a shameless scroll on Facebook; whether it’s looking at a prospective date, searching for that old school crush or (perhaps the worst of them all) looking at the profile of someone I used to date. With an American study from Western University showing that 88% of people who have just been through a break up search for their exes profile on Facebook, it would seem I am not alone in this matter. In a society where being single has never been harder and stalking has never been easier, are we actually just making things worse for ourselves – is even a little peak at a profile too much?

Before meeting a prospective date, most people admit to having had a cheeky glance on social media to assure themselves that the person they are meeting is not a complete psycho. Even though most are simply satisfying a small curiosity, there are always a few people who take it just a little too far. Spending hours digging up dirt on your date is not only a waste of your time, but will also give you a biased impression of them before you’ve even had the chance to meet them! Sure have a quick look (we all do it!) but then try and restrain yourself so that you can form your own opinion based on the real-life chemistry between the two of you, not from some photo of him from 5 years ago. Who knows, you might just end up finding something pretty special.

Whilst being curious about a potential new romance is pretty acceptable, stalking your ex can be a very dangerous game. How can he seem to be so happy without you? And who the hell is that girl standing next to him in his picture? These are probably just a few of the thoughts going through your head as you wished you had listened as your best mate told you to just forget about him! Now you are stuck seeing something you wished you hadn’t and it’s only made you miss him even more. So if this is you, then listen up and make a note to your present and future self. It’s time to stop. Unfollow him, block him, and even delete him! Do whatever you have to do to get him out of your life as the longer you obsess over it, the harder you are making it to get over him and carry on with your life. And, even though moving on is hard, move on you will as you find that new (and better) possibilities are out there.