Facebook Isn’t The Best When It Comes To Marriage

Facebook is great for a lot of things – catching up with old friends, discussing topics with like-minded individuals and following your favorite celebrities. It’s not so great when it come...
Facebook Isn’t The Best When It Comes To Marriage
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  • Facebook is great for a lot of things – catching up with old friends, discussing topics with like-minded individuals and following your favorite celebrities. It’s not so great when it comes to marriage though.

    Back in January, a survey found that over 30 percent of all divorces in the U.K. mentioned Facebook in the filings. From that survey, we could gather that the openness Facebook brings with it is not good for marriage. Sure, society tells us that we should never keep secrets from our spouses, but Facebook makes sure that those secrets don’t stay secret for long.

    That was all in the U.K. though. Surely the Internet, specifically Facebook, doesn’t play as large of a role in our divorce-happy nation, right? Unfortunately, Smart Money has found that over 80 percent of divorce attorneys have started to find social networking in their clients’ filing according to a report from the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. Individual lawyers are also coming forward and saying that over half of all cases that submit electronic material as evidence include Facebook.

    So what’s the big deal with Facebook and divorce? It’s the same problem that plagues a lot of stupid people on the social networking site. People think they’re anonymous when on Facebook even when the site clearly displays a lot of identifying and potentially incriminating information. This leads to people posting stupid things like siphoning gas from a cop car. It can also lead to people potentially admitting to an affair or other damning information, like leaving the toilet seat up.

    What could be even worse is that Smart Money has found judges using Facebook posts to determine child custody and alimony. I understand that Facebook offers an extra layer of evidence in determining the competency of a human being, but I hope that it’s not the only thing being used. A lot of posts, at least from me, are full of hyperbole and exaggerated statements that aren’t meant to be taken literally.

    It’s important to remember, however, that Facebook is just one part of the problem. Nothing can save a bad marriage, even when concealing your activities on Facebook. Posting irresponsible content on Facebook that brings your loyalty or maturity into question will not help matters at all.

    Once again, the moral of the story is to always be careful of what you post to Facebook. You never know who is going to see it and it could have disastrous effects. I would also advise you not to obsessively stalk your spouse’s Facebook account. It’s their privacy and they will share it with you if they want. Being suspicious is only going to add undue stress to the relationship.

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