Social Media After Divorce

As our Pittsburgh Divorce attorneys know, social media can have huge impacts in a divorce case. (Click here to learn more about facebook evidence in your divorce.) The reason that social media can have such huge impacts is because of the oversize effect that it carries in our lives. A divorce does not change the draw of your facebook page. Following a divorce, however, reading back through your memories and scrolling down your newsfeed can be hard. The effects of divorce are felt not just in the real world, but throughout your social network as well.

The Huffington Post provides steps that you can follow to “avoid social media stress during [and after] divorce,”:

1. STOP LOOKING AT THEIR PAGE: A recent study found that constantly searching your ex-spouse’s facebook page is strongly correlated with a desire to reconcile with your ex-spouse. The number one way to avoid social media stress during your divorce is to do whatever you have to do to avoid viewing your ex’s profile, whether that is by blocking, unfriending, or taking a temporary break from facebook.

2. USE IT TO MAKE OFFLINE PLANS: So much time is spent staring and refreshing your page, sending messages and chats, that you can forget that facebook was started to physically meet friends. Try and retake that idea, and use your page to make plans to reconnect with friends, both old and new. It can get you out of the house to be with people who support you.

3. DON’T POST NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT YOUR EX: Social media has become one of the biggest sources of evidence used in divorce court. Don’t get in trouble for having a spur of the moment angry thought used against you in your divorce case, and don’t get in trouble by inviting the whole world into your private matter.

4. CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD: Protect your privacy and change your password to something that your ex wouldn’t guess. This can preserve your independent life, and also prevent statements that you did not make from being attributed to you.

5. UNTAG AND DELETE PHOTOS: This is a step in separating and moving on. If the picture is deleted, you can’t spend time looking at it.

6. CUT THE CHORD: If all else fails, take a break from facebook. This, after the initial withdrawal, will allow you to create some distance with your ex-spouse and focus on yourself.

In your Pittsburgh Divorce Case, a court is able to bring in any information that you display publicly on any social media outlet. Anything that is privately shared with friends may also be sought out with a Court Order to produce it. Minimize the risk, and contact our Pittsburgh Divorce Attorneys today to talk about your unique divorce case!