Social networking for the gutless   |  July 27, 2009  

Breaking up is hard to do, but Facebook makes hinting about it easy

When the folks who built Facebook created the user profile page, Relationship Status was just another field. But according to the authors of a new report, Status is now a vehicle for gutless Canadians to dump once-loved ones.

The report was commissioned by Motorola in support of its new Hint QA30, a QWERTY-enabled handset that makes it easy to update a Facebook profile and send a hint to a formerly significant other. But even with the marketing tie-in, the report shines interesting light into how technology is changing dating.

Angus Reid polled 2,000 Canadians for the report; of those aged 18 to 34, 42 per cent would send a flirtatious text to hint they have a crush. Youths use Facebook wall posts or gifts (35 per cent) and instant messaging (32 per cent) to make contact. However, of those 55 or older, only 15 per cent would use Facebook and 12 per cent instant messaging.

On the dark side, a full 10 per cent would deliver break-up news by simply changing their Facebook status. That means people are logging on to the site and discovering their boyfriends or girlfriends are suddenly listed as single. Surprise!

Not much better, 35 per cent of Canadians would choose to break up over the phone.

In a related and completely unscientific survey of Backbone staff, 100 per cent of respondents sighed with concern about kids these days.