The Real Reason Facebook Causes One-Third Of Divorces
33% of divorced couples cite Facebook as a reason for their split.
4 PM production / ShutterstockAh, Facebook. The social networking site that's fast becoming not just a thorn in our backsides, but the bane of our existence.
If Facebook isn't selling your private information to companies, then it's breaking up happy marriages. What was once a tool for sharing party pics and finding long-lost friends is now the reason behind many divorces — and we're not even going to mention its part in the online stalking of ex-boyfriends, or even current ones for that matter.
In 2018, A U.K. divorce site found that 20 percent of "behavior petitions" (which is British lingo for "reasons to file for divorce") contained the word "Facebook" in them, meaning that the site was in some way to blame for the marriage's dissolution. Just a couple of years later, that percentage jumped to 33 percent.
But do we know how Facebook causes divorce?
Well, not surprisingly, learning the number-one reason why Facebook was at fault in these cases was due to "inappropriate messages to members of the opposite sex." It seems that people have yet to learn to make sexual and flirty comments through personal email as opposed to a Facebook wall for all the world (and significant others) to see.
In cases where the couples had separated but had yet to divorce, the once happily married folks were turning to Facebook to post nasty comments about each other. Well, if you can't shout how much you hate somebody from the rooftops, you might as well post it on their wall.
Another reason for how Facebook causes divorce is due to Facebook friends, or rather "friends," who took it upon themselves to rat out spouses who may have been getting a little too friendly on the social media site. Y
You know, because if you're married to Bobby and he's friends with Sally, but you're not friends with Sally, but you're all friends with Lily, then Lily is going to be privy to posts and statuses that you are not — that's why Lily is going to fill you in. Lily is a nice friend.
Of the 5,000 petitions, only 20 cited Twitter as a reason for marital bliss disaster.
One can't help but wonder exactly what the IQ might be of someone who is either publicly cheating or publicly disparaging their significant other. Neither choice is very sane or discreet and, in the end, the partner using Facebook as if it were a weapon or a meat market is the one who looks like a jerk. But common sense can't be everyone's strong suit.
Amanda Chatel is a regular contributor to Bustle and Glamour, with bylines at Harper's Bazaar, The Atlantic, Forbes, Livingly, Mic, The Bolde, Huffington Post, and others. Follow her on Twitter.