Have you ever broken up with someone via Facebook, email or text?

A new relationship survey reveals impersonal breakups are on the rise in a world where a lot of dating is conducted online. (iStock)

Remember when getting dumped by Post-it note was the worst breach of dating etiquette imaginable? Well, that was so '97.

A new relationship survey reveals impersonal breakups are on the rise in a world where a lot of dating is conducted online, according to CNET.

Conducted by market researchers Lab 42, and cleverly titled "The Relationship Status Update," the survey looked at the dating habits of 550 people (all over the age of 18) and discovered a lot has changed in the age of social media - including the way that people break up.

Thirty-three per cent of survey respondents said they had ended a relationship with someone via Facebook, email or text, while 40 per cent of those polled said they would likely do so in future. Likewise, online tools were key at the start of relationships - 57 per cent of survey participants said they would friend someone on Facebook as soon as they were romantically interested in them.

However, behind all of the technology, survey respondents were still old-fashioned in matters of the heart. Forty-two per cent of them said asking for a first date is something they'd do in person, while a whopping 75 per cent of those polled said they believe in having one true soulmate.  

Have you ever broken up with someone via Facebook, email or text? Why or why not? Has social media changed the way you communicate with people you date?  Share your comments below.

(This survey is not scientific. Results are based on readers' responses.)