Analysed to the ‘nth’ degree, social scientists have collated and concluded on from when to post to when most of us get together and breakup so here are the stats:f you have over 160 friends, congratulations you’re more popular than halve Facebook’s 500 million users. Got more comments than likes on that post? That’s probably bad news. Posting that promo photo for Tequila at 10 am? Save it till 8 pm.

When to post? Most “likes” peak at 8pm with steady increase from 4pm.
“Share” percentage also coincides within this time-frame, with photos receiving the most, statuses and comments just behind. So if you’re ticket seller or work for Mint, Space or Mission the time to promote and cash in is then. However, getting more comments than likes on your post may not be such a hit with the public. Studies reveal high comment to like ratios conclude to a more negative sentiment, whilst high positive rack up more likes to comments.

Trying to hit if off with a certain someone? Valentine’s Day and Christmas are still ranked the best time to try your luck, with 34% more new relationships than breakups around Feb 14th and 31% more about Xmas. The cold winter months tend to draw people together and see an increase in relationship activity, conversely the heat of June and July throwing up to 11% of heart breaks. What day of the week you make it “Facebook official” can also be scrutinised with a 6% increase in relationships for under 25s on a Sunday but a 3% decrease by the weekend.

So why do these patterns exist? Causation is always hard to pin down, it is thought many people looking for a change tend to end relationships in time for the weekend to travel home or spend it consolidating with friends, or perhaps waiting until the university work load winds down to deliver the bad news. However, the gain in relationships by the start of the week is maybe an echo of weekend festivities and social ties.

Henry Beach