Our post last week discussed the idea that using social media during a divorce or other family law dispute can make the process more difficult than it needs to be and may even jeopardize the outcome. Revelations like this are nothing new. In fact, they are almost as old as Facebook – which has been widely reported to increase the risks of divorce.
Of course, any assertion that something causes divorce or increases the risks of divorce needs to come with a lot of qualification. But according to yet another study/survey on the subject, a significant number of respondents said they have considered divorce because of a spouse’s “questionable” social media activity and/or frequent arguments regarding social media.
The survey contained responses from about 2,000 married people in Great Britain. Here were some of the results:
- Nearly 25 percent of respondents had one argument or more per week with their spouse about social media use
- About 17 percent said that their arguments were a daily occurrence
- One in seven respondents admitted that they have entertained the idea of getting divorced because of “questionable activity” that their spouse had engaged in on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Skype and What’sApp
- Approximately 58 percent said that they knew their spouse’s social media passwords (but not necessarily because their spouse shared this information with them)
Despite studies like this, it’s clear that social media itself doesn’t cause divorce. Rather, it seems that social media makes it easier for irresponsible users to make bad decisions that could jeopardize their relationship (infidelity, sharing a spouse’s private information, etc).
If social media is becoming a problem in your relationship, the easiest solution may be to stop using it. And by the way, if those disputes eventually result in divorce, Facebook and other social media sites may become a gold mine of evidence that your spouse may try to use against you.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Stay Off Social Media (Or Risk Divorce), New Survey Says,” Brittany Wong, April 30, 2015
