• Social media is now a factor in an increasing number of divorce cases
• New research found one in seven married individuals have considered divorce because of their spouse’s postings on social media sites
• Nearly one in five say they have daily rows because of social media

Social media has become a significant threat to marriage and is now a factor in an increasing amount of divorce cases. The number of clients who have said that Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, Twitter, What’sApp and other social media sites had played a part in their divorce is rapidly growing.

Social media is the new marriage minefield. Social media, specifically pictures and posts on Facebook, are now being routinely raised in divorce cases.

One in seven married individuals have considered divorce because of their spouse’s postings on Facebook or other online sites, according to research.

A similar proportion admit that they search online for evidence of their partner’s infidelity, while nearly one in five say they have daily rows because of the way their husband or wife uses social media.

The most common reasons for checking their spouse’s social media accounts was to discover who they were talking to, who they were meeting and where they were going.

A few years ago Facebook was rarely mentioned in the context of a marriage ending, but now it is more and more commonplace.

Some possible theories for this are:

Extramarital affairs – these might have taken months or even years to develop in the past, but with Facebook, Snapchat and other social networks your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend or some other friendly face is just a click away. When marriages go through rocky patches and people seek outside support, temptation has never been closer. You can easily reconnect with an old flame from the past online. It all starts innocently enough, but the next thing you know you’re meeting for coffee and ultimately this leads to an affair.

Digital affairs – Not a full blown physical affair but an emotional affair online. You spend more and more time secretly speaking to someone else. A study done by researchers at The University of Indiana found that many taken people are on Facebook to seek out potential back-burners — people who can be on the sidelines in case their relationship fails one day. The types of people that are sought out for a digital affair are exes, platonic friends, or strangers that have been met while on a night out. These affairs when found out can be just as damaging as the real thing.

Relationship neglect – Even the most mundane stories on social media can provide an escape and people who bury their head in a computer screen risk paying less attention to the problems in their relationships. If you are glued to a computer screen, you’re not looking into your partner’s eyes. Instead of reading what’s going on with your partner, you’re reading about someone’s dog’s surgery on Facebook. It’s a clear message to your partner that you’re more interested in what’s going on elsewhere than what’s going on with them. Being in a relationship takes work, many people are choosing to escape onto social media rather than do that work.

Studies have shown that the more someone is using Facebook the more likely they are to get into conflict with their partner. This is particularly prevalent amongst younger people.

Jealousy – Facebook sparks jealousy in a relationship thanks to a number of factors. People get jealous due to being able to see more information of what their partners are doing. Many people find it hard to not Facebook stalk their partners, and Facebook posts that are ambiguous have created many misunderstandings and arguments.
Many people also feel jealous and less supported when their partners share more photos of friends and events than family. Or they feel jealous because the person is constantly distracted or spends more time on Facebook than with them.

There are even starting to be cases of Social media addiction now – all these things will add strain or even end a marriage.

The moral of the story is if you want a lasting marriage, or you don’t want another divorce then stay off social media sites!

If you need help and support to get through your divorce or break up then get in touch today.