Social Media’s Impact on Divorce Proceedings

 Posted on December 21, 2023 in Family Law

For society at large, social media has become an integral tool in our lives that has shaped a great many things, chief among them, how we communicate. Our lives unfold on social media for all the world to see, so it should come as no surprise how useful it can be in divorce proceedings – for better or worse. A divorce attorney can help you understand just how impactful an online presence can be to your divorce case.

How Social Media Influences a Divorce Case

When you post pictures and videos of your daily life, you also provide evidence that the opposing party can use against you in a divorce. Not only current events, but a quick social media search can pull up information you may have hoped would never resurface. The constant bickering between family members could make you seem like a hostile person. Club and bar photos could make you appear irresponsible, hurting you when allocating parental responsibilities. Social media can be so influential to your divorce that it could be the factor that brings everything crashing down around you.

The Most Common Forms of Social Media Used Against a Spouse

There are many forms of social media available for an opposing attorney to choose from in which to unravel your case. However, the most common form is your smartphone. Incriminating text messages, to be more specific. Texts can immortalize times of anger, frustration, and even lewd behavior. Texts have a way of portraying a person’s real thoughts at the moment, which could contradict the calm and carefully spoken persona you hope to display during a divorce trial. Computers and email are probably the second most common forms of social media spouses’ legal representation will try to use against one another. When one spouse has access to another’s email address, all emails sent and received by that address can be admissible in court. Specific emails that an attorney objects to can be managed by subpoenas to the internet service provider for records showing who owns the account for those emails.

Can Social Media Be Helpful To a Divorce Case?

Social media can be helpful for the same reason that it can also be harmful. What you choose to use social media for is your business – until it is not. Divorce and social media are just not a good mix. Texts, photos, videos, messages, likes, dislikes, thumbs ups and downs, it does not matter. All can be used as a constant source of information for or against you in a divorce case.

Contact a DuPage County, IL Divorce Attorney

Feeling overwhelmed at the possibility you may have something on social media that could cost you big in your divorce? Secure yourself a Hinsdale, IL divorce lawyer like one from the Law Office of Martoccio & Martoccio. They have the experience and knowledge to help dig you out of the hole you think you may be in. Contact the office at 630-920-8855 for a free consultation for legal matters concerning your impending divorce.