More Fun with New Media
Friday, November 12, 2010 at 12:00 In a prior post, we saw how Twitter Tweets can collectively be used as a mood ring for the U.S.. Well, it turns out that Facebook status updates show the times of year that you are most likely to be dumped by your significant other! Here is the chart that shows volume of break-ups over time:
Most of this makes sense. Funny that Mondays in April have mini-peaks (why April?). I've heard that in the corporate world, firms usually lay off employees on Fridays. I guess that in each case the breaker-upper chooses a time at the end of a period of relationship interaction, rather before a period of relationship interaction... but maybe that's over thinking things a bit.
I guess there are a lot of returned Christmas gifts... so there is an advantage to last minute shopping? There is a small uptick before Valentines Day too, but people seem to stick it out better. Until Spring break, of course. Interesting stuff.
Check out the author's TED talk as well. You have seen TED, haven't you?
Reader Comments (1)
Love this. I typically teach an abbreviated version of this graph reflecting the points at which undergraduates break up, but this more detailed version is perfect. I still suspect (but did not investigate the age of the sample) that the April break-ups are facilitated by (a) the stress of an ending school year and/or (b) the realization that given the time of year, it is time to either escalate the relationship to greater commitment or to cut ties, as summers often are defined by events where couples spend significant time apart.