Facebook Stalking is a past time enjoyed by many a user. Some do it out of boredom, others out of curiosity and some even take it to the extreme past all societal norms or legal boundaries. A recent study by Vernonika Lukacs, a Master’s Degree candidate at Western University, found that a whopping 88 percent of respondents Facebook stalk their ex-lover in some capacity.

Facebook can often be the perfect place for spurned lovers to spy on their exes, so Lukacs decided to base her graduate thesis on the subject. The study titled “It’s Complicated: Romantic breakups and their aftermath on Facebook”, surveyed people 18 to 35 years old and interviewed another set of 21 to 39 years old, all of whom had experienced break ups in the last 12 months.

Out of the total numbers who Facebook creep on their exes, 70 percent admitted to doing it using a mutual friend’s account. What’s more shocking is that 74 percent even investigated the profile of their ex’s new partner or those who they think to be the new partner.

Niagra Advance breaks down other statistical highlights of the study:

• 48% of people remained friends with their exs on Facebook.
• 88% creeped their exs.
• 70% used a mutual friend’s profile or logged in as a mutual friend to creep their ex.
• 74% tried to creep an ex’s new partner or suspected new partner.
• 64% said they re-read or analyzed old messages from their ex.
• 50% deleted pictures of their ex from their profile.
• 31% posted pictures to try to make their ex jealous.
• 33% posted a song lyric or quote about their ex as their status.
• 52% said they were jealous of a picture their ex posted.

The study did not offer a comprehensive answer to what lovers and ex-lovers do online during and after their relationships. But it gives a glimpse of what some people do to mend their hearts (or ego) just after a breakup. The Internet and social networking sites are making it easier to spy on friend and foe alike.

Apart from these shocking statistics, there are some serious privacy implications at hand. If you would like to better protect your privacy from your ex (or anyone else for that matter), then consider heeding the following suggestions:

1. Change your Password – Some people share passwords or an ex-lover could have found yours out by other means.
2. Un-friend the person if the relationship didn’t end on good terms.
3. Consider removing close friends of your ex. The study shows that there is a good chance your ex will use the account of a friend to creep on you.
4. Create a Facebook list of mutual friends and use Facebook’s sharing options to limit what posts they can see.
5. Limit your posts and activity to ‘Friends Only’ and not ‘Friends of Friends.’
6. Advise any new romantic interests of yours to do the same. 🙂

If you need a complete walk-through on how to configure your Facebook privacy and account settings for ultimate privacy and security, then click here.

Recommended Resources

BitDefender Safego is a Facebook application you can install that will scan your News Feed and help keep you safe from scams on Facebook.

PRIVATE WiFi® is a Personal VPN that encrypts everything you send and receive. Don’t access Facebook from a public WiFi hotspot without it.

Do Not Track + is a FREE browser plugin created by Abine. This easy to install plugin keeps websites from tracking you. If you value your online privacy, then you should definitely take advantage of this free product.

Action Alert | Free Parental Control offers a 100% free Internet safety solution designed for parents. There is also a Maximum Protection option for parents that need a more advanced set of tools.