It used to be the tell-tale lipstick on the collar. Then there were the give-away texts that spelled the death knell for many marriages.But now one in five divorces involve the social networking site Facebook, according to a new survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
A staggering 80 per cent of divorce lawyers have also reported a spike in the number of cases that use social media for evidence of cheating.
Flirty messages and photographs found on Facebook are increasingly being cited as proof of unreasonable behaviour or irreconcilable differences.
Many cases revolve around social media users who get back in touch with old flames they hadn’t heard from in many years.
Facebook was by far the biggest offender, with 66 per cent of lawyers citing it as the primary source of evidence in a divorce case. MySpace followed with 15 per cent, Twitter at 5 per cent and other choices lumped together at 14 per cent.
‘The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to,’ said Mark Keenan, managing director of Divorce-Online.
An American minister also made the headlines recently when he called Facebook a ‘portal to infidelity’
Marriage counsellor Terry Real said he believes some users go on Facebook to create a fantasy life and escape the drudgery.
‘There is nothing more seductive that the ‘one that got away’ fantasy that’s always better than someone who is up to her eyeballs in bills,’ he told ABC News in the U.S..
But he said Facebook is not really to blame.
‘Before it was email, then before that it was the phone. The problem is not Facebook, it is the loss of love in your marriage,’ he said.
My comment:
As they always say…if you can’t be good, be careful.
Cheating on someone is a very old thing. People have been cheating on their spouses & beloved even before the net existed. I don’t think it’s right to fix the blame on Fb. If there is a gap between 2 people, the 3rd party will take advantage of it.
But I know people who are into digging & they have discovered unbelievable things on FB. But these people also dig in real life & they keep on discovering stuff that people want to hide from the rest of the world.
I guess it’s inevitable not to keep an eye on your guy if he’s in your list. I will do that too.
