From the mushy to the messy, some people just can’t help but broadcast details of their relationships on the Internet.

While April Yim might be looking for dates publicly on the Internet with her September Socials idea, some young people have already been conducting their relationships publicly in cyberspace.

It started out with people informing all their friends online about who they’re currently in a relationship with. Facebook does that quite niftily. All you have to do is change your relationship status, and boom, all your peeps know who you’re currently dating.

But now, people don’t just stop at proclaiming to their friends who they’re seeing (or when they break up); they have to share details about their relationship that honestly, nobody needs to know about.

Jonathan Ng, 20, posts Facebook updates like: “Jonathan Ng has no idea what is going on because his girlfriend didn’t reply his messages and ignored me the whole day... babbbbyyyyy why?”

Jonathan Ng, pictured here with his girlfriend, believes that Facebook provides a healthy outlet for couples to vent their feelings.

He also posts slightly more sensitive updates, like “how do I tell Sarah what’s on my mind” or “Jonathan Ng is in a world of hurt”; which in several cases, led to replies from his girlfriend (all visible to their Facebook friends) that were not very pleasent.

And of course, there are the PDA (public display of affection) posts, like “Jonathan Ng loves his baby Sarah =)”, “Yay! I’m still in a relationship with Sarah!!” or “missing sarah despite the invention of webcams ...”. His Facebook profile picture, the first thing most people would see when they visit his page, is of him and his girlfriend sharing a kiss.

And it’s not just on Facebook.

April, a self-confessed Twitter addict, otherwise known as a Twitteraddict, Twaddict, Twiddict or whatever Twitter portmanteau (or Twortmanteau?) they’re using to refer to it at the moment, has been feeding her 795 followers with live updates about her September Socials dates on Twitter.

(Those who want to know how her dates went can just search for #SeptSocials on Twitter.) While that might strike many people as slightly odd, Jonathan believes that it’s actually good for a relationship.

“Facebook helps. It’s like an outlet. You can’t always show or express these emotions in person, but on Facebook, it doesn’t feel as awkward. It’s always easier said, or typed, than done,” he said, even though responses from his girlfriend such as “see i told u that u were on facebook. so much for not replying me and busy studying. big time liar” from his girlfriend hardly makes it look like a healthy outlet.

According to Jonathan, though they’re pretty vocal about their feelings with one another on Facebook, they do not argue in public.

“I think there’s nothing wrong with arguing and complaining about each other on Facebook. Relationships are not smooth sailing all the way. Sometimes it’s not easy to say these things in person, and that’s when you express it on Facebook,” he added.

In fact, Jonathan says Internet applications like Facebook could actually help couples to be more affectionate. He says he and his girlfriend are seldom affectionate in public, but on Facebook, they get to say sweet things to each other without feeling awkward.

“It’s like online PDA, and my friends did tell me stuff like ‘we didn’t need to know that’. But I think it’s good because my girlfriend is studying in Melbourne now, and it gives her a sense of security knowing that I’m thinking about her,” he said.

But no matter how public relationships are getting online these days, Jonathan does believe that a line should be drawn.

“If it’s just ‘I love you’ or ‘I miss you’, it’s alright. But if you start talking about your sex life, I think that’s too much. No one should do that,” he said.

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