Breaking up was easier before social media. Not the emotional part — that was always hard — but the mechanics of it. You broke up and just avoided each other at the mall. Today, disentangling is … complicated. Photos of your ex with a new love infiltrate your news feed. Even a Venmo transaction can send you reeling. Email us at loveletters@boston.com or find us online at loveletters.show.

It’s common advice after a breakup: The best way to get over an ex is to get under someone new. But does it work? Is rebound sex empowering, or does it just leave you feeling lonelier? Meredith Goldstein explores the emotions — and the science — at play in one of life’s most vulnerable moments. Email us your thoughts at loveletters@boston.com and find us online at loveletters.show.