Facebook used in 90 percent of divorce cases

Facebook used in 90 percent of divorce cases

St. Petersburg, Florida - A St. Petersburg attorney says Facebook and social media are used in 90 percent of her divorce cases.

"You get a little bit of everything that happens on Facebook," said Carin Constantine.

"Everything from clients coming in with pictures of the opposing party doing a keg stand with high schoolers... to teenagers drinking alcohol served by a parent... to a picture of a husband at a nightclub dancing with a babysitter."

A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that Facebook is cited in one in five divorces in the United States. Also, more than 80 percent of divorce lawyers reported a rising number of people are using social media to engage in affairs.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/reporter/article/189649/79/Facebook-used-in-90-percent-of-divorce-cases

How does 20% equal 90%? From the article: "A recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that Facebook is cited in one in five divorces in the United States."


That said, I think Facebook is trite and annoying, and have not once regretted closing my account 2 years ago.

First, if a couple is divorcing, I'm guessing that at least one of them will "un-friend" their spouse, not allowing him/her to read what's going on in his/her life.

Next, the only way to gain access to any information that could be given to the divorce attorney would be through a friend who's still a "friend" of the separated spouse. (With me so far?) That's possible though not likely.

Unless that separated spouse has absolutely no filter on his/her account, that information is really hard to get at.

before anyone unfriends anyone or any papers are filed.

People sure are dumb about what they put on the Internet these days.

Thanks for the focus on Facebook’s impact on marriages. We noticed you used the “1 in 5 divorces involve Facebook” stat. The “stats” around this issue have gotten so loose and messy that we investigated the 14-month history of this stat and put the findings on our blog, Techlationships.com. We encourage you to read “Debunking the 1-in-5 Divorces Linked to Facebook Stat” at http://bit.ly/1in5FB and maybe do a story on it.

BTW, 2 days after our blog post, the Wall Street Journal did an article on it as well validating our findings.

Let us know if you have any questions! K Jason and Kelli Krafsky (The Social Media Couple/Co-Authors of "Facebook and Your Marriage")