How to break up with someone through text, according to an etiquette expert

Breaking up with someone is awkward.

That's why many people resort to text to deliver the bad news, rather than having an uncomfortable, IRL meeting.

While text break-ups don't usually seem polite, etiquette expert Daniel Post Senning tells Tech Insider there are select circumstances when it's okay.

You should only break up with someone via text if you're in the beginning stages, says Post Senning, who works for the Emily Post Institute, a longtime publisher of etiquette guides.

If you decide a text is best, don't give them the brutal truth ("I don't like you"), Post Senning suggests. Instead, when they text to ask you on another date, reply with something kind like, "I'm glad we've had the chance to go out, but I'm not interested. Thanks for asking."

Etiquette is about honoring a relationship, based on a mutual set of emotional expectations, he says. If the majority of your interactions have happened over text and you've gone on less than five dates with them, a text will suffice. If you've spent a lot of time together, you owe them an in-person break-up.

The worst thing you can do is ghost someone, Post Senning says. A text is definitely better than nothing.

"Ignoring someone is not appropriate and disrespectful," he says. "Refusing to acknowledge someone can be one of most painful things you can do."