One in Five Divorces in U.S. Driven by Social Media

Social media websites, like Facebook and Twitter, serve as great ways communicate to friends and family both near and far. However, these sites can also lead to marriage difficulties.

Divorce-Online's managing partner Mark Keenan claims that Facebook-related antics contribute to one in five divorces, as posted on Telegraph.com.

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers also added that 80 percent of the top attorneys it surveyed claimed the amount of individuals using Facebook and other social media channels to engage in extramarital activity is "burgeoning."

"If I'm talking to one person five times a week vs. another person one time a week, you don't need a fancy psychological degree to conclude I'm more likely to fall in love with the person I talk to five times a week," Steven Kimmons, a clinical psychologist Ph.D., told ScienceBlog.

Alan Edmunds, a former Judge Pro Tem in family courts, could not agree more. Edmunds, who has over 30 years of experience in family law, says the growing number of Facebook-fueled breakups has nothing surprising.

"I'm not surprised... It's symptomatic of the society we live in. It breaks down traditional marriage." the mobile divorce lawyer said. "Opportunity and temptation are an age-old problem in relationships. It (Facebook) makes it easier to have anonymous relationships that people think aren't real, but they turn into real relationships."

The trend leading to the Facebook-induced break-up sounds like this: with little to do, husband or wife attempts to track down that one crush he or she had back in middle school.

Once their special someone is sought, a secret exchange of e-mails and text messages happens which often leads to meeting up somewhere and later, an affair. Soon enough, the opposing husband or wife discovers an alarming Facebook post that reveals the devious relationship.

"I have seen relationships started on Facebook," said Edmunds. "People have revisited old relationships and they're rekindled. It's when some marriages aren't as strong as they should be (when it becomes a matter of concern)."

An alternative route to divorce court is one side of the couple begins taking a deeper looking into his or her significant other's social media contacts. Such curiosity can spawn a dispute that typically hinders the quality of the relationship.

"People will vent on Facebook instead of talking to their spouse or boyfriend (about an issue)," Edmunds said.

Communication via Facebook, even after the divorce proceedings have been initiated, can be of great interest in family law courts - especially if the messages are verbal backlashes at an ex.

Vice-president elect of the AAML, Linda Lea Viken, tells her clients "I want to see your Facebook page. I want you to remember that the judge can read that stuff, so never write anything you don't want the judge to hear," She adds that "it's all pretty good evidence ... the judges don't really have any problems letting it in. It's very common in my new cases... I've had some fun ones."