If you're going to break your lover's heart, do it face-to-face. That's the word from a survey of 2,395 adults conducted by Harris Interactive for WhitePages.com. An overwhelming majority agreed that face-to-face encounters are best for breaking up, admitting error, giving negative news or expressing anger. Leave the text messaging for a grocery list.
Dubbed the "Psychology of Making Contact," the survey shows that despite the U.S. culture being dominated by online social networking, text messaging and a growing addiction to BlackBerrys, most people know that nothing beats looking another person in the eye when broaching touchy topics.
Why? Face-to-face conversations are less likely to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. On the other hand, e-mail messaging is regarded as very likely to be misunderstood.
Still, there is nothing quite so difficult to say or hear than "I just don't love you anymore." Of those polled, fully 88 percent said they prefer to break up with a lover in person and an equal number agreed they would rather hear those awful words in person than any other way, including over the phone, by e-mail or in a written letter.
iVillage.com offers some wisdom on how to break up with your lover:
- Be honest.
- Don't make excuses. It will only hurt the other person even more.
- Don't communicate with each other for a while.
- Don't try to be "just friends" when it's over.
- Don't have sex the night you break up.
- Don't have sex if he/she begs you to get back together.
- Insist on no contact. At all. Ever again.
--From the Editors at Netscape
