Popular social networking site Facebook is making the ever-elusive relationship chemistry messier than the past as many of its members are using the site to stalk their exes, meet strangers for sexual favours, and most importantly, to dump their current partners, bombards a leading men’s health magazine.

Facebook might seem to be an instant hit among people of all ages, but figures tell a disturbing tale. Based on a survey of 3,000 males and females, Men’s Health reports that 27 out of 100 Facebook users don’t mention their relationship status at all, so they can have casual flings with friends, acquaintances or strangers. It further notes that 24% users use the social networking platform to have secret affairs, which equals outright cheating on a committed partner.

Referring to a University of Guelph study, the men’s mag notes that Facebook fuels jealous feelings, turning even normal people into psychopaths. Of those surveyed, 59% people said they became jealous after peeping at Facebook posts shared between their partners and others. What is even more worrying is that a status update or a photo-tag seems to be straining relationships in the real world, notes Men’s Health.

Given the customisable interface of the social networking website, its users can decide who they want to share their personal information with. Such levels of autonomy can be misused to conceal information as well, in which case it amounts to cheating, complain many of the participants in the survey.

The points to take home from the survey are simple. For those who are young and unaware of the dangers of unsafe sex, a casual fling starting from Facebook can eventually lead them to contract sexually transmitted diseases such as genital herpes. And for those who are in steady relationships, cheating on the partner can have devastating consequences on the overall well-being of general and sexual health. The feeling of stress and guilt that usually stems from having a secret affair may cause a man to suffer from erectile dysfunction and a woman to experience sinking libido. Either way, what might happen in future is anybody’s guess.