'Heartbroken' men take 4 weeks longer than women to change Facebook status

Women may immediately change their Facebook status after a break-up, but it is much harder for heartbroken men who take four weeks to change their profile from 'In a Relationship' to 'Single,' according to a new study.

The majority of men - 63 per cent 'prolong the misery' of updating their profile from 'In a Relationship' to 'Single' for a month or more, eight per cent fail to do so at all.

If and when they do, only a third admits if they were dumped - and even fewer - 15 per cent - reveal the reasons why.

Women, on the other hand, tend to go public within a few days, often with a new description and photograph to reflect their 'happy single' status.

The study by new dating site ALovingSpace.com was based on a survey of 1,000 unmarried 18-65 year-old male and female members across the UK.

It found that male respondents generally coped with splits far worse than women, and were more likely to bottle-up their emotions and 'present a tougher front' to friends.

Almost 20 per cent of female respondents, on the other hand, admitted they had or would change their social media profiles immediately - often in order to hurt or humiliate their ex-partners.

A spokesman for ALovingSpace.com said he was 'not surprised' by the results, which appear to overturn the widespread assumption that women are more vulnerable after a break-up.

"On the face of it, men are the tough talkers and the ones who present a tougher front but that is just societal conditioning," the Daily Mail quoted the spokesman as saying.