As stories continue to circulate of the myriad consequences of oversharing in the increasingly connected world of social media, it would be wise for Florida spouses to take care when logging in. The information put out on sites such as Facebook possibly could strain a marriage, or even provide ammunition for one spouse to use against another during a divorce.
CNBC explored a university study that suggested possible adverse impacts of social media on marriages. The study used various statistical models to compare Facebook account proliferation in each state to divorce rates. While the study did not claim social media leads to more divorces, it did predict that those who use social media heavily would be at least 11 percent less happy in their marriages than light users. Divorce rates climbed between 2.18 and 4.32 percent with a 20 percent increase in the number of Facebook accounts over the course of a year.
On top of the possible harm social media use could cause to a marriage, Fox Business says it could also cause trouble during divorce proceedings. Because it can be unlawful to destroy or hide relevant information from a court, social media should be used sparingly and judiciously. Someone going through a divorce should ask family and friends to refrain from putting information about them online. Furthermore, images that appear to show big expenses, travel, and the like could prompt investigations into finances.
Considering the complications that could result, the best practice during a divorce is probably to forego the use of social media sites altogether. The easiest way to keep damaging information from being used in a divorce is to avoid creating the information in the first place.
