About a month ago, readers, a fling of mine ended.  Now, this courtship lasted a month, which is pretty good for me considering my less than ideal track record.  I have no hard feelings towards this guy and we even decided to “just be friends.” Now, I’ve had guys say that to me before but, it always means something different.  I’ve even used that line once or twice and not meant exactly what I said. Anyways, it got me thinking, What does that saying mean? 

“Let’s just be friends…because I don’t want to feel like a complete jerk.”  Aaah, yes.  I’ve even been guilty of using those four little words as a way to ease my own conscience.  Rejection, as we all know, sucks.  It sucks when you’re rejecting someone and it’s a bummer when you’re rejected.  Pulling the “friends” card enables us to lighten the burden of breaking a heart.  It’s an easier way of saying goodbye.

“Let’s just be friends…because I want to still keep my options open.”  This is an ulterior motive if I’ve ever seen one.  If your significant other is unsure of his/her feelings but does have a genuine interest in you, saying those four words enables him/her to explore their options while keeping you close by. How convenient. To me, this is basically an “open relationship” and we all know those never turn out well. [Read more →]

From a study of over 10,ooo Facebook status updates, we are able to learn crucial information about just when we can anticipate a break up.

This graph demonstrates when throughout the year those relationship status changes appeared on your newsfeed.

Mathias Mikkelsen / mathiasmikkelsen.com

Notable trends:

— Right before spring break, hold onto your man. Cancun is, based on the data, a big incentive to live the single life

— Just another Manic Monday. Remember what accidentally happened over the weekend? Yeah that’s gonna be a factor — break ups peak early in the week.

— Christmas Day is the safest day of the entire year — but if you can make it to that point. Break ups skyrocket in the weeks leading up to the holiday season. An aversion to buying presents, perhaps?

— Don’t let your roommates have your Facebook password anymore. April Fool’s Day sees a spike.