We all use social media sites nowadays. It is common – a norm already. Now, the question is in what ways can it possibly affect the divorce rate?
Social media sites are on the rise
According to comScore, last year 1 out of every 5 minutes spent on the internet was for social networking sites or social media sites. More and more people socialize through these sites rather than in person (face to face). In short, a lot of people use social media sites anywhere they are because of the availability internet connection.
You can have a chat or catch up with your friends anytime you want as long as they’re online. It’s also interesting to note that you can post something about anything without too much restrictions.
Because of this freedom, some say that social media sites are the culprits in some divorce cases?
Evidence in courts
According to an article in the website of American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), there is an increasing trend of using court evidences from social networking sites. Based on the survey of AAML last 2010, 66% of the social media evidences were from Facebook.
The same study cited that 4 out of 5 lawyers agree that in the past 5 years there was an increase in the number of divorce cases wherein social media evidence was used.
According to shine.yahoo.com, social media evidences has been key part of almost 700 cases. Basically these are used in 4 ways:
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know the state of mind of a person
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evidence of communication
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time and place
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actions taken
The factors in rise of divorce cases
Although there are reported cases pointing to social media sites as the cause of divorce, there is still no direct large scale correlation between social media and divorce rate.
According to a report entitled State of Our Unions, and one study from Harvard University entitled Why Have Divorce Rates Fallen? The Role of Women’s Age at Marriage (2011), the other factors in the decrease of divorce rate include marital stability, women’s marrying age, and level of education.
The potential of one post
We all know that social media is getting more trendier by the minute. So it’s getting more engrained in our system. Relationships are now more vulnerable because of seemingly odd posts, or unsolicited ones. So usually, more and more relationships are either broken or created because of social media sites.
So a single post goes a very long way because of audience size and the speed of posting something online. So a post can ruin a relationship if posted on the wrong time, and read by the wrong crowd.
Some important reminders
According to lawyerlocator.com, there are some things that should be remembered when you have a pending divorce case.
The most important one, avoid discussing your case online. Do not post negative things about your partner. If there are some posts from your partner’s account that can be used as evidence for your case, notify your lawyer.
And most important of all, always follow your attorney’s advice.
Conclusion
Social media sites are powerful tools. You can influence others’ opinions, market a product, and become popular. At the same time, you can destroy relationships. As others have always said, think twice before you post.
Social media sites are really beneficial in communicating with others but always practice restraint.
Author bio: Ric explores the role of social media in divorce cases. Other than writing divorce-related blog articles, he writes for a law firm in Boca Raton that specializes in divorce and family law in Florida.
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