If you’re currently going through a divorce and you’re typically active on social media, it’s time to consider how your online presence could affect the pending dissolution of your marriage. Ask yourself the following:
- Do friends and family await your Tweets?
- Is Instagram home to pictures of all your latest adventures?
- Has Facebook become a forum for your personal thoughts and opinions?
If you answered yes to one or all of these questions, you may need to reevaluate your social media posting rituals for the remainder of your divorce proceedings. During the course of your divorce, online forums such as those listed above are not where you should be sharing details about your personal life, especially as they pertain to your marriage and its pending dissolution.
Social Media Mistakes to Avoid
- Oversharing: Refrain from posting about the details of your divorce online, no matter how messy, scandalous, or otherwise “newsworthy” they may seem.
- Bragging: Making subtle comments about how much better life is without your ex won’t do anything more than potentially hinder your own emotional healing.
- Posting pictures: Any picture can be misinterpreted, even innocent ones. Avoid posting pictures where you’re drinking, partying, or partaking in any other “questionable” behavior.
- Badmouthing your ex: Bashing your soon-to-be ex online won’t do you any good in the long run. Even the immediate relief will be fleeting, and ultimately unsatisfactory.
- Blocking your ex: It’s tempting, we know. But, ultimately, all this will do is add fuel to the fire. It gives your ex permission to question if you’re trying to hide something.
HELPFUL TIP: Social media posts are admissible in court. This means anything you post online could be used against you when determining the terms of your divorce, i.e. custody, support, property division, etc. Furthermore, anything you post is permanent. Sure, you can remove / delete a picture or
status update, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t already been seen, screenshotted, and saved by someone else.
For more legal help and advice during your divorce, contact us at TJC • ESQ. A Rhode Island family law attorney at our office would be happy to meet with you to discuss your situation in further detail.
