How Instagram notifications made my breakup even more unbearable

LONDON — I'm sitting in a packed theatre on the opening night of a sellout production. It's a night I've been looking forward to for months, but right now I'm more interested in my phone.

While everyone around me chatters excitedly before the play starts, I'm silently staring at Instagram, but it's not what you think.

I tap the word "following" at the top of my notifications tab and I'm taken to a page that tells me what my friends have liked. And, more specifically, what my ex-boyfriend has liked. 

My heart's in my mouth as my eyes flit about the screen, trying to take everything in. Just a few words on a screen have confirmed what I've been dreading: that my ex has moved on. Read more...