Like most adults in the U.S., you likely use social media and even use it on a daily basis. The Pew Research Center states that approximately 74% of Facebook users in the U.S. visit the site every day.
During your divorce, you do not have to stop using social media completely. Instead, you should understand how the information you post online can affect your divorce and institute strategies to protect your best interests.
Evidence in your divorce case
If you are not careful, your spouse can use information found on social media against you during the divorce process. For example, your spouse may use photos or status updates on your accounts to demonstrate evidence of infidelity when solidifying specific grounds for the end of your marriage. Or, your spouse may try to prove you have hidden assets during property division negotiations or that you are an unfit parent during child custody conversations based on information found on social media.
Tips for protecting your interests
There are several ways you can prevent information found on social media from causing harm during divorce proceedings:
- Wait to change your marital status on your Facebook profile from “married” to “single” until you finalize your divorce settlement.
- Refrain from badmouthing your spouse on social media. Instead, talk out your frustrations with a family member, close friend or therapist.
- Avoid posting any pictures of you partying or spending large amounts of money. Disable tagging permissions on your profiles so your friends cannot add photos of you engaging in these activities.
- Resist posting any pictures of you and a new partner or status updates about anyone you have started seeing until you finish the divorce process.
If you have concerns about using social media during your divorce, you may want to step away until you finalize agreements with your spouse. This may also be a good idea if you have a hard time staying away from your spouse’s profiles to see what he or she is up to.
