Why a Facebook divorce is a really bad idea

If you are like most people in New York and across the nation, you likely have become “addicted” to Facebook and other social media. While admittedly you can have a lot of fun keeping up with your friends and family this way, sometimes you should resist the urge to “share all” with them. Your divorce is one of these times.

During your divorce, Facebook can become your new worst enemy instead of your best friend forever. Why? Because the information you share there, supposedly with only your family and friends, can instead wind up in the hands of your spouse and/or his or her divorce attorney.

Even with the best of privacy settings, you have no real way of preventing others from discovering your personal information and using it against you in divorce court. Believe it or not, even eight years ago, a full 67 percent of divorce attorneys admitted that they used Facebook to provide them with damaging evidence against their clients’ spouses.

Privacy myths

Privacy represents one of the biggest myths out there about Facebook and other social media. Your best strategy consists of assuming that anything you post on Facebook, etc., be it information or photos, is there for everyone to see, including your about-to-be ex-spouse and his or her attorney.

Consequently, you should never post any of the following on Facebook or any other social media during your divorce:

• Information or photos pertaining to any new romance you are pursuing
• Information or photos pertaining to new purchases you make, especially the expensive ones
• Information or photos pertaining to any new residence you contemplate moving into
• Information or photos pertaining to where you go for fun and who you go with
• Any photos of a sexually suggestive or explicit nature

Remember, what you do not post on Facebook or other social media cannot be used by anyone to harm you or cause negative consequences in your divorce. Your own best interests dictate staying off Facebook, or at least using it minimally, until such time as your divorce proceedings conclude.