There probably isn’t a household in America that hasn’t been affected by social media in some fashion. But when social media sites start creating havoc in a marriage — so much so that they could lead to divorce — perhaps a couple needs to re-evaluate the time each spends online and doing what, where and with whom. Facebook seems to have been pegged as a big culprit, apparently causing 33 percent of divorces in the United States, including some of those in California.
Apparently, Facebook isn’t just a place to post selfies and food pics anymore, but a place where partners can check up on each other. What some have found has led to major rifts in relationships. Partners have a way of finding out when their significant others have made what they see as inappropriate comments to people of the opposite sex on this social media site, and it causes major trouble, especially when the behavior is ongoing. And if a partner doesn’t actually find out what his or her spouse is doing on the site, chances are friends will and many waste no time tattling about it.
Even when it’s a friend of a friend of a friend who drops the bomb that a spouse is acting what can be construed as unsuitably for a married person, it may set the wheels in motion to create a sense of mistrust in a relationship. If partners are open and honest with each other about the time they spend online, these kinds of issues could possibly be avoided. However, if one partner notoriously misuses social media sites like Facebook, he or she could be in the area of no return or have crossed the line into divorce territory.
With more people airing the private lives online, it’s not surprising many a divorce has been blamed on social media. California couples who find themselves in these unfortunate circumstances would do well with obtaining legal counsel. Each person might wish to speak to an experienced attorney on what steps to take to begin the divorce process when social media has created an irreparable rift.
Source: yourtango.com, “How Facebook Causes Divorce — One Third Of Them, Actually!”, Amanda Chatel, Feb. 22, 2018