The Facebook Divorces: Social Network Site Is Cited in “a Third of Splits” Facebook is becoming a major factor in marriage breakdowns1 and is increasingly being used as a source of evidence in divorce cases, according to lawyers.
The social networking site was cited as a reason for a third of divorces last year in which unreasonable behaviour was a factor, according to law firm Divorce-Online. The firm said it had seen a 50 percent jump in the number of behaviourbased divorce petitions2 that contained the word“Facebook” in the past two years.
Mark Keenan, managing director of DivorceOnline, said: “Facebook has become the primary method for communicating with friends for many people. People contact ex-partners and the messages start as innocent, but lead to trouble. If someone wants to have an affair or flirt with the opposite sex then it’s the easiest place to do it.3”
The most common reasons for Facebook causing problems in relationships were a spouse finding flirty messages, photos of their partner at a party they did not know about or with someone they should not have been with.
Mr. Keenan said he warned his clients to keep off Facebook while going through divorce proceedings4. He added: “People need to be careful what they put on Facebook as the courts are now seeing a lot more evidence being introduced from people’s walls and posts in disputes over finances and children.”5
1. breakdown:（关系的）破裂。
2. petition:【法】诉讼。
3. affair:（非配偶的）暧昧关系；flirt: 调情，打情骂俏；下文的flirty为形容词。
4. proceedings: 诉讼，诉讼程序。
5. 他补充说：“人们需要注意自己把什么内容放在Facebook上，因为如今在法院受理的争夺财产和子女的离婚案件中，看到的来自Facebook留言板和帖子的证据比以前多得多。”