Friending your ex: Good idea?

TAMPA - Ever wonder what happened to that guy that broke your heart in the 80s? Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace make it all too easy these days to reconnect with old flames.

"You don't have to wait 10 years for that college reunion. You don't even have to wait 20 years. It's at the speed of light," said protocol coach Patricia Rossi.

If you are on any of the social networks, it has probably happened to you. An old fling, flame --even an ex-spouse -- finding you online.

For Tampa grad student Nina Hausman, it was an old fling that was very persistent.

"It was an Italian guy that I had a short fling with and he contacted me on Facebook and he said, 'Hey do you want to be my friend,' and I hit 'ignore' and then a few months later he sent me a message inviting me to be his friend and I just hit ignore again," she recalled.

Facebook user Joe Sabatini surfs the social web with caution. He knows putting himself out there casts a wide net.

"You put in a name of someone, it could be from five years it could be 20, it could be longer, and then all of a sudden there's photo galleries and their bio and everything," Sabatini said.

So what is the fascination with old relationships? We asked our protocol coach.

"We're voyeurs. We love to see into all that," explained Rossi.

She adds rekindling old relationships online can be lovely if -- it's appropriate.

"What you need to ask yourself is, would you call this person or write them a letter? Or would that be taboo? And if it is a taboo -- No! Leave those bones buried. You don't want to dig them up," Rossi continued.

Victoria Carpenter of Zephyrhills might say she was glad to do a little digging. She reconnected with childhood friend Cole Schwartz and now they are engaged to be married.

"It's funny. I actually found him through other friends of ours," Carpenter explained.

The bottom line, Rossi says: If the ex gives you butterflies or angst when you see them online, it's probably best to think before you accept.

"If you broke up with them 20 years ago, they've had 20 years to get more crazy, so don't do it," Rossi added.