Perhaps being connected to everyone at all times isn't everything it's cracked up to be. On one hand, it's fun to know that the person you hate in high school is suffering in a career in Miami's premiere dinner theatre, but on the other, Facebook is apparently cited over and over in divorce cases.
According to a survey of case loads at law firms in the UK, Facebook is cited in a great many divorce cases, not only because spouses can no longer stand each other's relentless begging for Candy Crush lives, but because it also offers "irrefutable evidence of infidelity" and also offers moment-to-moment tracking of users' activities that no other service can provide.
From The Daily Mail:
Leeds law firm Lake Legal said that many cases revolved around social media users who got back in touch with old flames they hadn't heard from in years.
Managing partner Lyn Ayrton says that Facebook sees us reveal certain details about our lives that can later be used in court.
'Social media provides an ongoing log of our lives. The sharing of written posts and pictures, often with geo-tagging, provides a record of activities that can be used in a court case,' she said.
Important takeaway: If you're going to be a scumbag, make your Facebook private, turn off location tags and make sure no one but you can see your pictures and posts. You'll get a lot less likes (and I know that's what we're all really here for), but then they'll have to ask you "where were you on the 3rd Tuesday of last month?" in court instead of knowing a fact that you're lying.
'Often, if a partner refers to an impending bonus, a new job offer, or plans for a holiday, it may provide evidence that they are not telling the truth about their financial position. At the very least, it could call their credibility into question.
'It's like having a massive public noticeboard.'
Lyn added that she had seen the social network provide irrefutable evidence of infidelity in the past.
'Somebody said she was not in a relationship with anybody new but then posted a message inviting everybody to a housewarming party for her and her boyfriend.'
Okay, but that's not really Facebook's fault, is it? That's just some stupidity right there. If you're telling people you don't have a boyfriend, just don't have a housewarming party with him. Do people really think their exes aren't going to go through their Facebook? I regularly ask large groups of people (in a professional setting, not just for fun) how many of them have stalked an ex online to see what they're up to and almost everyone puts their hands up. Even I stalk my exes online to see just how fat and bald they've gotten now that I'm out of their lives and they've lost the best thing that ever fucking happened to them you cheating bastard. So the moral here is to never post anything online.
Considering how court cases have changed since Facebook and other social media have come into vogue, it's best to lock away all information and/or have no online presence whatsoever. Lawyers and former partners aren't just using Facebook and Twitter to gather intel about their lying spouses, Google, according to the mail can also be a trove of useful information.
Image via Shutterstock