Facebook fuelling divorce, research claims

[Viva Las Espuelas]

Facebook is being cited in almost one in five of online divorce petitions, lawyers have claimed.

The social networking site, which connects old friends and allows users to make new ones online, is being blamed for an increasing number of marital breakdowns.
Divorce lawyers claim the explosion in the popularity of websites such as Facebook and Bebo is tempting to people to cheat on their partners.
Suspicious spouses have also used the websites to find evidence of flirting and even affairs which have led to divorce.
One law firm, which specialises in divorce, claimed almost one in five petitions they processed cited Facebook.
Mark Keenan, Managing Director of Divorce-Online said: "I had heard from my staff that there were a lot of people saying they had found out things about their partners on Facebook and I decided to see how prevalent it was I was really surprised to see 20 per cent of all the petitions containing references to Facebook.
"The most common reason seemed to be people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to."
Flirty emails and messages found on Facebook pages are increasingly being cited as evidence of unreasonable behaviour.
Computer firms have even cashed in by developing software allowing suspicious spouses to electronically spy on someone's online activities.
One 35-year-old woman even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook.
Conference organiser Emma Brady was distraught to read that her marriage was over when he updated his status on the site to read: "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady."
Last year a 28-year-old woman ended her marriage after discovering her husband had been having a virtual affair with someone in cyberspace he had never met.
Amy Taylor 28, split from David Pollard after discovering he was sleeping with an escort in the game Second Life, a virtual world where people reinvent themselves.
Around 14 million Britons are believed to regularly use social networking sites to communicate with old friends or make new ones.
The popularity of the Friends Reunited website several years ago was also blamed for a surge in divorces as bored husbands and wives used it to contact old flames and first loves.
The UK’s divorce rate has fallen in recent years, but two in five marriages are still failing according the latest statistics.
Mr Keenan believes that the general divorce rate will rocket in 2010 with the recession taking the blame.

[koriwhat]

dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

[Trainwreck2100]

its just making it alot easier to get caught

[florige]

its just making it alot easier to get caught




+1. lol

[lefty]

Research :rolleyes:rolleyes:rolleyes

It's not Facebook's fault if some users are dumb.

Plus, Facebook now has new privacy settings

[ploto]

Just leaving a trail of what they were probably doing anyway.

[Whisky Dog]

If you're married it should just be for family to keep in touch, nothing more and close it off to all other people, period.

[Sancha]

I get 40% of my clients from facebook.

[ploto]

If you're married it should just be for family to keep in touch, nothing more and close it off to all other people, period.

If I got married, I would close my FB account.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

If I got married, I would close my FB account.

I have a FB account and so does my wife she can see everything I do if she wants. It's not FB it's the person.

[I. Hustle]

I have a FB account and so does my wife she can see everything I do if she wants. It's not FB it's the person.

agreed. My wife and I have each others passwords. Not because we don't trust each other but sometimes my bro will get on (he's in Iraq) and she will log into my account and she will joke around with him pretending to be me.

[angel_luv]

It's not FB it's the person.

I agree.

[koriwhat]

^ hey angel is bo flexing in your wedding photo? haha. bo cracks me up!

[ploto]

I have a FB account and so does my wife she can see everything I do if she wants. It's not FB it's the person.

I don't believe in a person who is married spending time with a person of the opposite sex to whom they are not related. Online or in person makes no difference to me. I should not be having private contact of any sort with any man if I am married. I don't believe in putting myself in a position to be misinterpreted. If I were married, I would not PM with any males on here either or even engage on the board in anything that seems to be a conversation between the two of us.

She can't see a record of your chat and you can't see hers.

[angel_luv]

^ hey angel is bo flexing in your wedding photo? haha. bo cracks me up!

Yes, he is.

The little kid in the photo is my former roommate's son, Brett.

Brett really looked up to Bo.

Bo showed Brett the best cartoon channels.

Bo taught Brett how to prank call.

Bo also taught Brett the following joke, which Bo would convince Brett to to tell me whenever Bo visited where I lived.

Person one: " Do you have tickets?"
Person two: " Tickets to where?"
Person one flexes his muscles: " Tickets to the Gun Show!"

Thus the muscle flexing picture- one of my most favorite wedding pictures. :)

[I. Hustle]

I don't believe in a person who is married spending time with a person of the opposite sex to whom they are not related. Online or in person makes no difference to me. I should not be having private contact of any sort with any man if I am married. I don't believe in putting myself in a position to be misinterpreted. If I were married, I would not PM with any males on here either or even engage on the board in anything that seems to be a conversation between the two of us.

She can't see a record of your chat and you can't see hers.

I use mine for family though. Nothing going on there. It is very convenient when trying to organize stuff with everyone.

[ploto]

I use mine for family though. Nothing going on there. It is very convenient when trying to organize stuff with everyone.

I think it's great for family. I just know that I get unsolicited contact from guys I went to high school with that I would not feel comfortable about if I were married. I don't want to make it completely private, but I suppose that would be another option- so that no one could even contact me. I just am extra careful because I learned the hard way after a married friend make a move on me.

[Strike]

If meeting people on FB is "causing" you to f around on your spouse, then your marriage isn't worth a crap to begin with.

[760Spursfan]

If meeting people on FB is "causing" you to f around on your spouse, then your marriage isn't worth a crap to begin with.


True.

I hate how they blame certain sites instead of blaming the people themselves. If they are cheating then they are not happy and it could just as easily happen at work or somewhere else.

[JoeChalupa]

If meeting people on FB is "causing" you to f around on your spouse, then your marriage isn't worth a crap to begin with.

I concur. :tu

[The Gemini Method]

I think its more than just FaceBook. The internet has made infidelity alot more accesible and open for anyone who might want all the reward and less of the hassle of creeping in the "real world." If your heart is intent on straying, it will do so regardless of social network. The real problem is the lack of ability of being straight-forward. If you're being that sloppy and open to suspicion, you're bound to get caught--and in some cases, it is intentional.

I think a more deeper problem is that people, and I am speaking about the younger generations, don't really understand what a relationship is and what it entails. However, there is soooo many issues that are at play here...FB ruins lives people...

[Drachen]

I concur. :tu

Me too. The title should be "Infidelity fueling divorce, research claims."

[Sancha]

The title should read

"Sancha pulls horny married bastards off of facebook."

[The Gemini Method]

The title should read

"Sancha pulls horny married bastards off of facebook."

Do the damn thang, Sancha!

[Strike]

True.

I hate how they blame certain sites instead of blaming the people themselves. If they are cheating then they are not happy and it could just as easily happen at work or somewhere else.

Yup. My (ex)wife blames facebook, among other things, but refuses to accept any responsibility for her part in spreading her legs for other men. Conveniently, she leaves out the fact that one of the dudes with whom she cheated was before she had ever heard of facebook. :bang

Revisionist History. Not just for sports fans.

[I. Hustle]

Yup. My (ex)wife blames facebook, among other things, but refuses to accept any responsibility for her part in spreading her legs for other men. Conveniently, she leaves out the fact that one of the dudes with whom she cheated was before she had ever heard of facebook. :bang

Revisionist History. Not just for sports fans.

Damn bro. You and I should get a beer.

[thispego]

Articles like this bring a smile to my face. Social networking websites is for the birds.

[mrsmaalox]

I was dragged kicking and screaming onto FB. I will admit it's not as bad as I thought but it certainly isn't near as great/interesting as some people claim. The privacy controls are all great, but I don't use any. I don't need to, because I don't post any personal info about myself. Anyone can go into my profile, pictures, etc and not see a damn thing because there's nothing there! I don't know why I would need to put anything there, the only people I friend already knoweverything about me. Facebook isn't to blame for anything, just dumb people who engage in risky behaviors and then count on FB to protect their privacy!

[angel_luv]

I like Facebook because of the updates- seeing what all my various friends are up to and updating them all about me with a single entry which they all can view.

[Richard Cranium]

Articles like this bring a smile to my face. Social networking websites is for the birds.

Especially when you have no social life.

[thispego]

Especially when you have no social life.

Yes, if you live on social networking sites, that is a good indicator that you have no real social life. good point douchebag

[Rip-Hamilton32]

i like facebook it helps getting basketball games together

[JudynTX]

I use mine for family though. Nothing going on there. It is very convenient when trying to organize stuff with everyone.

:tu It's a great way to organize family GTG's. I don't play any of the games though so I don't have like 800 friends. :lol

The people on my FB page are people I actually want to stay in contact with. I'm married and hide nothing from my husband. He can log in whenever he wants to read it. He doesn't want a FB page or email. :lol

[Ginobilly]

What about Myspace??
My ex girlfriend from 5 years ago made me a myspace account without me knowing, and kept it on for almost 2 years just to dig up dirt on me. I was pissed when I found out and it was what caused our breakup.

[ploto]

What about Myspace??
My ex girlfriend from 5 years ago made me a myspace account without me knowing, and kept it on for almost 2 years just to dig up dirt on me. I was pissed when I found out and it was what caused our breakup.

I have wondered-- there is a FB account with my name on it that I did not create. I have tried every combination of e-mail address (I only have 2) and password I have ever used and can not get onto it. My name is rare enough that it is supposed to be me.

[Dex]

Give me a break. All Facebook has done is given people a new avenue to practice their infidelities. It just happens to be terribly convenient, which is probably why a lot of relationships fall victim to it.

Blaming Facebook for adultery/divorces is like blaming the highway for traffic accidents, or blaming the telephone for telemarketers. You don't blame the tool, you blame the user.

[koriwhat]

i once got caught by my psycho ex(where's that troll at?) conversing with this chick i know about how i was unsure whether or not i should be with psycho. needless to say the bitch got all up in arms over it. haha. i hate myspace/facebook drama. i will never ever friend a gf again. fuck that! it's not that i don't respect them enough to allow them to watch my every movement but that they should respect me enough to know i ain't here to screw anyone over.