Breaking Up in the Digital Age: Examining the Relational Dissolution Model on Instagram

Breakups can be an emotional time as individuals experience breakup distress and begin to explore the options and potential actions that are associated with relational dissolution on social media. This study seeks to explore how certain online behaviors, as they relate to stages of relational dissolution, affect breakup distress, relational uncertainty, social media engagement, and overall attitudes towards singlehood. Findings suggest that social media engagement plays a key role in exploring the phases of relational dissolution. Higher social media intensity linked breakup distress and behaviors of the social phase, or when individuals share information about a potential breakup. Grave-dressing behaviors were connected to high levels of social media intensity, because this phase emphasizes impression management and account modification. Resurrection behaviors, or the transition into singlehood, were positively linked to positive attitudes about singlehood. Finally, this study explored the influence of an ex-partner continuing to maintain connection with our participants, finding that it increases relational uncertainty but not breakup distress levels. These results offer insight into how young adults navigate breakups through Instagram and how these digital behaviors connect to broader emotional patterns and social media habits.