According to the Pew Research Center, as of January last year, a whopping 74 percent of U.S. adults admitted to having at least one social media account. Facebook remains the most popular social media platform and 71 percent of U.S. adult social media users have a Facebook account. Additionally, 23 percent use Twitter and 26 percent Instagram.
For many people, posting to their Facebook page or tweeting via a Twitter account becomes a sort of ritual. People share all sorts of things via social media including very information about very personal difficulties or challenges they are struggling to overcome. It’s important, however, that regular social media users who are going through a divorce or child custody battle use restraint and good judgment when posting or tweeting.
Going through a divorce or child custody battle is hard and it’s normal and natural to feel sad, angry and even vengeful towards an ex. However, it’s never a good idea to make your social media account a platform for discussing these types of matters. Even if you think that you’ve blocked an ex from your account, it’s highly likely that an ex will discover what you’ve been posting. Not only will common friends likely spill the beans, but divorce and family law attorneys regularly audit Facebook and other social media accounts to discover evidence that may benefit a client’s case.
In addition to refraining from posting things about your ex, it’s equally never wise to discuss your frustrations about the actual proceedings. Posting that your divorce judge or your ex’s attorney is a jerk is almost asking for trouble and can negatively impact the outcome of one’s case. Additionally, it’s never wise to discuss matters related to money, your social habits or to post pictures of your kids while going through a divorce. Even things that you think are innocent can be misconstrued and presented as evidence to the court.
Source: Huffington Post, “Social Media and Divorce: Why You Should Put the Keyboard Down and Log Out,” Ashley Tate Cooper, Dec. 7, 2015
