While easy is seldom a word used to describe the end of a relationship, I do believe that breaking up with a significant other has become significantly less comfortable since the almighty invention of social media and other oversharing apps.

Despite our best intentions to move on and go our separate ways after a breakup, social media continues to remind us of the person we once were when we were coupled off. Between Snapchat stories and Facebook memories, the best intentions to start anew are often hindered by the virtual ties that bind us to our former relationships. This can apply not only to romantic connections but also to old friendships or former flings that have run their no-strings-attached course.

While perusing Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, or even "dating apps" like Tinder and Bumble, the risk of seeing people you are trying to avoid is astronomical. It has become nearly impossible to remove a person completely from your life, despite blocking, unfollowing, unfriending, all in combination with good old-fashioned will power. Despite our best intentions to remain aloof, we are not immune! Complete and total isolation from a person is nearly impossible in this day and age unless one of you goes off the grid and moves to the Arctic tundra or something of the like.

Intricate algorithms may be to blame, like a breakup in the real world isn't immediately reflected in the virtual word. The once complimentary likes, tags, comments, and tweets will remain indefinitely. Unless of course, one overly ambitious scorned lover takes the time to remove them all. I'm aware some people are this dedicated. And it's all done to avoid seeing a picture of someone they dated for two years winning the lottery and riding a unicorn around the moon all while looking incredibly attractive and having the most fun EVER!*

During a relationship, countless things are shared. These include, but are not limited to, friends, experiences, tangible objects as well as intangible ones, like hopes and dream. When a relationship ends, these shared connections remain and social media has made them damn near impossible to ignore. Before social media and sharing apps became an integral part of modern day relationships, the lines of communication were more easily severed post-breakup. Now just ignoring someone's calls doesn't protect you from the umpteen other ways they may attempt to virtually contact you.

So while being connected to the people we date is important, it's possible we have become so over connected that to break completely free after a breakup is a thing of the past, like MySpace.

*Not everything on social media should be taken at face value and Facebook is far from the best way to measure a person's happiness.