Divorce Confidential: Lawyers Say Facebook Cited in 20% of US Divorce Cases

The interesting thing about this is the degree to which otherwise intelligent and reasonably well-informed informed people are using a notoriously insecure medium to engage in risky behavior. What does that say about a society's cultural norms, to say nothing of business attitudes towards employee internet use while at work?

From Ragan's PR Daily:

"Ever heard stories about happy couples who met on Facebook? Awfully sweet, isn’t it?

Turns out the social network can also lead to divorce.

Reporting on a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, the Times of India said:

“Facebook is cited in one in five divorces in the United States … Also, more than 80 per cent of divorce lawyers reported a rising number of people are using social media to engage in extramarital affairs.”

Many (if not most) of these relationships were probably in danger regardless of Facebook’s influence; the social network just pushed one spouse over the edge.

However, Steven Kimmons, a clinical psychologist in Illinois whose practice includes marriage counseling, told the Times of India that a couple doesn’t need to be experiencing difficulty for a Facebook friendship to turn illicit.

“I don't think these people typically set out to have affairs," Kimmons explained. “A lot of it is curiosity. They see an old friend or someone they dated and decide to say ‘hello’ and catch up on where that person is and how they're doing.”