Earlier this month, Zayn Malik made headlines after he allegedly left his fiancee via text.
According to The Sun, the 22-year-old former One Direction member ended his engagement with Perrie Edwards, of British four-piece girl band Little Mix, without even calling her, let alone meeting her face-to-face.
If the story is true, Malik wouldn't be the first celebrity to break off a ring-finger-level relationship via text message.
Katy Perry has said her ex, comedian Russell Brand, told her their year-long marriage was over with a text.
"Let's just say I haven't heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011," Perry told Vogue nearly two years later.
Both Malik and Brand have been criticised for their alleged social ineptness. But, in an age where dates are organised on Tinder and anniversary well wishes can be sent via Snapchat, is breaking up with someone via text message still rude?
Dating coach and chief executive of Blue Label Life dating agency Samantha Jayne says, unequivocally, yes.
"This person, you have to remember, was once your love and you have to put yourself in their shoes," she says.
"It's a really cold way to break up with someone."
For psychologist and life coach Melanie Schilling, the answer is less black and white.
"It depends on the quality of the relationship," she says. "I'm not going to say the length of the relationship, because you can have a really intense and meaningful relationship that only lasts two weeks."
Schilling says people should look at their relationship for clues as to how it should end.
"If it was a relationship where you met through a mobile app, and you had a short-term, casual – maybe not exclusive – relationship where most of your communication was on social media, it might be totally appropriate to end it via text."
Despite text-based communication being a common way for lovers to communicate, the majority of us still wouldn't want to break things off without speaking to our soon-to-be ex in person.
Data from eHarmony's 2015 Relationship Study found that while 54 per cent of Australians would use text messaging to organise a date (and 53 per cent would use it to tell their date they had a great time afterwards) only 20 per cent would end a relationship without a face-to-face meeting.
Dr Chris Chesher, a lecturer in Digital Cultures at the University of Sydney, says that when new ways of communicating are developed, humans create conventions of conduct around their use.
When it comes to giving someone else bad news, Dr Chesher says these conventions cause us to believe it is poor form to use a form of communication like text message, where the conversation is inherently one-sided.
"The same issue has come up recently with dock workers being sacked with text messages," he says.
"The reason for this taboo is the asymmetricality of the communicational situation ... it is perceived as cowardly not to deal with this situation face to face."
Jayne says the two-way communication provided by meeting in person is preferable to attempting a clean break where the other person has no right of reply.
"I think it's important to be able to discuss the problems openly; communication is key to a successful relationship," she says. "The break up could actually be avoided if you were to talk about it."
However, she warns that there are some times when meeting in the flesh is best avoided.
"If that person is really aggressive or out of control, then obviously you wouldn't have to face that in person."
How to stage the perfect break up:
1. Be prepared for the worst
"Understand that it's never pleasant and you can't really control the other person's behaviour," Jayne says.
2. Make sure you definitely want things to end
Both Schilling and Jayne said you should be absolutely sure you want the relationship to end before starting the conversation. Make sure there aren't temporary stresses (a sick family member, work or study commitments) that are clouding your view, or affecting your partner's behaviour.
3. Be respectful
When letting your partner know it's over, Schilling says you should treat them "as you would a friend", even if your relations have become difficult.
Jayne recommends delivering the news in the same way you would a professional performance review.
"I would always use what I call 'sandwich feedback', so start with a positive, then a negative and end with a positive," she says.
"It doesn't necessarily make them feel better, but it's still a lot nicer than, 'I don't want to see you again'."
4. Take some time away from each other
The transition from romantic to platonic relationship is easier said than done.
Jayne says, if you do want to be friends, accept that you might need some time apart "to heal your loss and their loss".
