Poll: Do You Have to Unfriend Your Friends’ Exes on Facebook?

Here’s a tricky Facebook etiquette question: when your friend breaks up with their significant other, does that mean you have to unfriend the now-ex on Facebook? Assuming you weren’t already friends before, that is.

It’s hard because unfriending someone on Facebook seems so absolute: there are so many people that I can’t tolerate in real life who I would never consider unfriending, no matter how many annoying status updates they have. And when most people have upwards of 300 friends on Facebook, what’s one more person? And what if you run into the ex at a party or on the street one day — are you supposed to ignore them, or politely say hi to them while trying to avoid the awkward fact that you took the trouble to go to your Facebook settings and officially announce that you do not consider that person a friend?

On the other hand…

If I broke up with my boyfriend, and was going through the period of time where I hated him, like, really really hated him, I most certainly would appreciate it if my friends, likewise disgusted with his transgressions, would unfriend him in a public show of solidarity. And, I don’t know about you guys, but my personal collection of girl friends and guy friends have dated some real chumps over the years, and I really don’t feel the need to be kept current of their every vacation, belligerent status update, and recently read article on Buzzfeed.

So, there are pros and cons to unfriending a friend’s ex. Where do you stand on this very important issue?