[creature]

> It seems like we're engineering people to be terrible at handling the complexities of interpersonal relationships.

To me, this seems more like "engineering Facebook to be better at handling the complexities of interpersonal relationships." Now we're massively more connected, there's more opportunities for unexpected pain. Features like this can help redress the balance.

In the days before Facebook you knew that unless you were going to your ex's favourite places or hanging out with mutual friends, you weren't likely to run into them or hear about them. But now it's wherever you check Facebook – and even if you're not a heavy Facebook user, millions of people are. As soon as you wake up? Over breakfast? During a slow meeting at work? Waiting for your coffee? There's lots of times when I'd rather not wrestle with those emotions.

It's not about enabling a safe space, or the right not to be offended. It's about giving users more control over the content they see, and giving Facebook more information about whether a breakup was amicable or emotionally devastating (which, in turn, lets Facebook make better decisions about content that should show up in your feed).