Self, Heartbreak

Why You Should Remain Facebook Friends With An Ex

woman's hand pressing laptop keyboard

Bridges are built, burned down, and built up again only to see more destruction before you are finally done with your ex. You know why you shouldn't delete his phone number, but what about Facebook? We're all guilty of FB stalking (don't deny it). We could win prizes for our undercover investigations via wall-to-wall post and photo albums. While we certainly advocate un-tagging him in all your photos, there are very good reasons not to cut yourself off from him completely by removing him from your list of Facebook friends. After the jump, check out 5 reasons why you should never defriend an ex on Facebook.

5 Reasons Not To Defriend Your Ex

1. Keep in touch: You might not want to have anything to do with the guy now, but it's likely that your bitter feelings will subside in time. A birthday wish or a friendly wall post may be in order at some point in the future. Resist the temptation to defriend and simply hide his stories from popping up in your news feed. The Frisky: How To Be A Good Ex

2. It's immature: If you defriend, your ex will obviously figure it out. It will make you look childish and send him a message that says you're hurt and affected. Be mature and keep him in your friends list. His online existence doesn't affect you any way, right? The Frisky: Dear Wendy: "My Ex Still Contacts My Kids On Facebook"

3. You'll still have the memories: If you delete him out of your cyberspace, his day-to-day life might disappear from your screen, but the time you spent with him will not. Facebook or no Facebook, you will still have the pictures uploaded on your computer as proof of what you once had.

4. So he can see what he's missing: You might never want to see his face again, but maybe he's checking up on you from time to time. Your new haircut and attitude are making you feel better, and guaranteed they're making your pictures better, too. Upload a hot new profile picture, and let him eat his heart out.

5. To continue your stalker habits: Though this route doesn't exactly help you move on, it's still fun to keep tabs on people you once had feelings for. Defriend impulsively and you will never get to stalk him ... or his new girls, again. Unless, of course, you send him a friend request later on, which is just embarrassing.

Instead, just delete the adorable profile picture of the two of you on vacation to get it out of sight, and focus on your new and improved single self. Have you ever had any funny Facebook experiences with an ex? The Frisky: Facebook Says Getting Engaged Makes Women Unhappy

By Lauren Gold for The Frisky