How Not to Accidentally Booty Call Someone (And 13 Other Digital Dating Dos and Don’ts)

Considering they’re known as social networks, sites like Facebook and Twitter make dating awfully complicated. Ditto for texting, which feels casual, but still makes people look desperate if they send too many. As a single lady, I can tell you every decision in a relationship, from meeting someone to breaking up is fraught with considerations for our digital lives.

In this article I recently wrote on digital dating, I ask, how soon is too soon to Facebook friend someone I’ve recently met? Do I add a message? When do I text someone I’ve just met, or gone on a date with, and what do I say? Does writing on someone’s Facebook wall make me clingy? If we’re in a relationship in real life, do we make it official on Facebook? What do I do about those photos tagged of me hanging out with an ex? And if I break up with someone, do I first check privacy settings to make sure the split won’t show up in my friends’ news feeds? (Okay, I already knew the answer to that one: “yes.”)

And don’t even get me started on Google Buzz.

The Twitter-Facebook-Foursquare-Yelp competitor launched after I wrote this, and it’s too early for me to know what to make of it. That said, I imagine Autofollowing and posting updates to a public Google profile doesn’t exactly take away opportunities for misunderstanding and accidental revelation.

In this article, I asked three relationship-and-etiquette experts everything I ever wanted to know about sex digital dating but was afraid to ask (and yes, we did talk about unintended booty calls). Check out my list, and let me know if I left anything out. What puzzles you about digital dating? Has technology ever killed– or helped– your relationship? Sound off in the comments.