Recently the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, tied the knot and married his longtime girlfriend. However, while his status just changed to “married,” it turns out that many couples who later go on to change their status to “divorcde” or “single,” cite Facebook as playing a role in why their marriage did not go as planned.
According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Attorneys, more than 80 percent of lawyers surveyed reported seeing an increase in social media being involved in a divorce.
When looking at why Facebook and other social media networking sites are playing an increasing role in more divorces, K. Jason Krafsky, who authored the book, “Facebook and Your marriage,” said part of the reasons is due to the fact that sites such as Facebook put out the temptation to cheat.
Krafsky points to the fact that with extramarital affairs it used to be a spouse would have an office romance or out-of-town relationship that would take years to develop. However, now it just takes a few quick clicks on Facebook and suddenly people are talking online with ex-girlfriends and ex-boyfriends, or have become “friends” with a person they briefly just met.
This can all lead to a person who would not normally cheat give into temptation.
Of course, it should be noted that these are not the only reasons how Facebook and other social networking sites come into play in a divorce. Sometimes, photos are used as evidence to try and paint one parent in a negative light for child custody reasons. Other times social media can even be used in spousal support cases to prove why a person should, or should not, receive the alimony amount being requested.
In the end, what’s important to remember is that social media can end up coming into a divorce, even if a person does not expect it to. Because of this, it is best to be fully prepared when getting ready to go through a divorce by talking with a family law attorney to know all possible scenarios that could end up playing out.
Source: SmartMoney, “Does Facebook Wreck Marriages?” Quentin Fottrell, May 21, 2012
