Why burn a box of things that remind you of your past relationship when you can eliminate them from your life with a simple application?

With a new app called “Killswitch,” which was ironically released on Valentine’s Day this year, you can remove all traces of your ex from your social media profile.

From status updates and Twitter mentions to past and future Facebook photos, all of the unwanted memories of a past relationship can be discreetly removed with the click of a button without having to delete them from your friends list.

Killswitch is only available on the Google Play store and is one of a series of apps that have been created to address ending a relationship.

The Brazilian-made app, called the “Ex-Lover Blocker,” allows you to enter your ex’s contact information in the app. If you attempt to call or text that person with the given contact information, the app will alert your friends and post on your Facebook page that you are attempting to contact your ex. While the app can be found on the Apple app store, it is only available in Portuguese.

“I know some people who could use that app,” freshman Rachel Weber said. “They call their exes and text them all the time, and they shouldn’t.”

However, choosing to ignore a past significant other isn’t an option for some students.

“I don’t deem it (app) necessary,” senior Michael Peuschold said. “I guess if it was that messy of a breakup or that messy of a relationship that might be where you want to go with it.”

Other students think that trying to address a breakup with your ex can lead to problems and that people need a grieving period.

“To a certain point, it’s healthy to address the issue, but after awhile it just becomes a burden on everybody involved,” Weber said.

Jeri Rockett, director of Counseling and Psychological Services, said she can see the value in an app that would help you get time away from someone that you’re not over yet.

“That sounds like it’s probably a good idea, especially if the break up is difficult,” Rockett said. “The last thing you want to do if you’re feeling miserable is to see your ex having a great time, especially with somebody else.”

Rockett stresses that the introduction of social media into relationships has made it more difficult to make a clean break from somebody you don’t want to see anymore.

“Before all the social media things, if you didn’t want to see a person, you could just avoid them. You didn’t go to the parties that they went to,” Rockett said. “On Facebook, you just can’t avoid them, so this would be a kind of digital way of doing that and taking a little more control over the situation.”

Rockett also emphasizes that each relationship is different. Every breakup should be handled differently depending on the nature of the relationship.

“If it’s a friendly breakup, you might want to still talk to the person,” Rockett said. “Sometimes that can be really helpful.”

Jacob Sevening can be reached at seve8586@stthomas.edu.