New Dating Etiquette

“When life is being led in public, every word and gesture is open to criticism.” A new book explains how social media recall the dating games of Jane Austin’s provincial England. “All these new media are actually making college-age love affairs more traditional—that is, more governed by strict etiquette, and more accountable to the judgments of peers. Is it rude to break up with someone by text message? If you text your boyfriend that you want to break up, does that itself constitute a breakup, or is it just an overture to a longer process? If you do break up, do you change your Facebook status to ‘single’ right away, or should you tell your best friends about it first, so they won’t find out on their Facebook news feeds?”