Facebook data reveals users' romantic and break-up habits

A new report put out by Facebook’s data scientists highlights the patterns users make when they break and begin romantic relationships. The Facebook data is taken from 2010 and 2011.

In the wide view, there are two points in the year that are the best for relationships: February and December. February 14 and 15, dates that coincide with Valentine’s Day, are favorable for new relationships. Christmas time, December 24 and 25 are also prime times for pairing or patching for romance. February 14 had 49 percent more new relationships over break-ups, and Christmas Day had 34 percent. December in general showed a “net gain for romance,” as 4 percent more people began new relationships than didn’t.

Across the demographics of under 25, 25 and 44, and those 45 and over, the summer months generally are bad for relationships. The months of May through August are lower than the other months of the year for 2010 and 2011. December seems have the most extreme net gain for those under 25, and of course February is good across all demographics.

Daily, if you want to know when a break-up is going to happen, Facebook users take the HR approach: fire on a Friday. Friday and Saturday seem to be the top break-up days for those in the older age groups, though the under 25 group seems to like their break-ups on a Thursday. Sunday and Monday for all age groups are the peaks for new romancing across all age groups, as well as Thursday for everyone except the under 25. Facebook’s data scientists believe the explanation for the end-of-week break-ups could be because people see the weekend as prime for easing the burden of ending a relationship, or for going out and starting up new social ties.

Of course, these numbers aren’t completely exact, as people may not disclose accurate relationship changes all the time on their Facebook profile. Still, it’s interesting to see the ebb and flow of romance in these social networking numbers.

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Introducing Singly: Take back the power over your Web data

Study: Facebook engages fans and followers more than Twitter

Zynga outgrows Facebook, launches Zynga.com, Zynga Platform

Three reasons why ID theft increased in 2011 and how you can protect yourself