Facebook cited in more and more divorces

Facebook cited in more and more divorces

Surveys that show Facebook being cited more and more in divorce cases should make spouses think twice before “friending” someone of the opposite sex, experts say.

A 2010 survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers showed that 81 percent of “the nation’s top divorce attorneys” reported an increase in social networking websites being used as evidence in divorce cases. Facebook is the leader, being cited in 66 percent of cases that involve online evidence.

“We’re coming across it more and more,” said clinical psychologist Steven Kimmons of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. “One spouse connects online with someone they knew from high school. The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook. Within a short amount of time, the sharing of personal stories can lead to a deepened sense of intimacy, which in turn can point the couple in the direction of physical contact.”

The Facebook-divorce link has been discussed widely in the social media realm lately thanks to a survey from the United Kingdom supposedly showing Facebook being at least partially blamed for one in five of all divorces. The data is from a U.K. online divorce service that found the word “Facebook” appearing in 989 of the company’s 5,000 divorce petitions, all of which were uncontested, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company’s managing director called the survey “unscientific.”

Whether or not Facebook is a reason for one in five divorces, it is becoming an increasing problem in marriages, Kimmons and other marriage experts say.  (BP)