1 in 4 US divorces involve Facebook: Study

LONDON - A new survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers has found that one in five divorces involve the social networking site Facebook.

A staggering 80 per cent of divorce lawyers have also reported a spike in the number of cases that use social media for evidence of cheating, reports the Daily Mail.

Flirty messages and photographs found on Facebook are increasingly being cited as proof of unreasonable behaviour or irreconcilable differences.

Many cases revolve around social media users who get back in touch with old flames they hadn’t heard from in many years.

Facebook was by far the biggest offender, with 66 per cent of lawyers citing it as the primary source of evidence in a divorce case. MySpace followed with 15 per cent, Twitter at 5 per cent and other choices lumped together at 14 per cent.

“The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to,” said Mark Keenan, managing director of Divorce-Online.

“Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny. If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence,” said American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers President Marlene Eskind Moses.

“As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations,” she added. (ANI)