(The Root) — Once upon a time, breaking up with someone was as simple as erasing their phone number from your telephone book, ripping up a few pictures and asking your friends not to say his or her name around you. Now, in an age in which everything is tagged, liked, reblogged, retweeted and favorited, moving on from a new ex-paramour requires a lot more work.
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A recent study (pdf) by Lancaster University and the University of California has determined that there are three main categories that people fall into on the basis of how they dispose of digital memories after a breakup: "deleters," "keepers" and "selective disposers." The categories are rather self-explanatory — "deleters" unfriend and unfollow their exes and delete all pictures, posts and emails after a breakup; "keepers" keep everything; and "selective disposers" trash all but a few important digital mementos.
A quick poll on the Huffington Post's website shows that most people are "selective disposers," people who deal "with relationship reminders when they were ready," deleting and disposing as time wears on. "Keepers" make up the smallest population of respondents.
Read more at the Huffington Post.
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.
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