Divorce and Facebook

 Posted on July 07, 2013 in Family Law

Social media has become a huge part of our everyday lives, Facebook being just one of its many outlets. But can these sites that let us connect faster with others hurt our marriages? A recent article says yes.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s blog Smart Money, Facebook has been discovered as causing many divorces around the world as well as providing evidence during divorce hearings.

A United Kingdom-based legal firm reported that more than a third of divorce filings contained the word “Facebook,” according to a study they recently conducted.

Here at home, over 80% of divorce attorneys say they’ve noticed an increase in the number of cases using social networking, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

A divorce attorney in Connecticut reported to Smart Money that out of the 15 cases he handles per year in which computer history, texts, and emails are used as evidence, 60% involve Facebook specifically.

K. Jason Kraksy, author of “Facebook and Your Marriage”, says that “Affairs happen with a lightning speed on Facebook.”

Facebook is unique from other social networking sites because it has the ability to reconnect old flames and allows individuals to add people they have only briefly met.

According to Kraksy, “It puts temptation in the path of people who would never in a million years risk having an affair.”

Even if Facebook is not the ultimate root of a married couple’s problems, it does allow those dealing with them let off steam about their lives to others.

Randy Kessler, a Georgia-based lawyer and chair of the family law section of the American Bar Association, says that, “The difference with Facebook is it feels safe, innocent, and private. People put an enormous amount of incrimination stuff out there voluntarily.”

Smart Money reported that the Facebook is being increasingly examined in courts for evidence.

With the growth of social media use, especially Facebook, divorce is becoming increasingly more complex. If you are going through the divorce process and have questions about how you should use (or not use) your Facebook, contact a dedicated Illinois divorce attorney for advice.