A new survey of American divorce lawyers shows that evidence from Facebook is used in one out of five U.S. divorce cases.
What's more, 81% of 1,600 lawyers surveyed said they'd noticed an increase in evidence from social networking sites used in divorce proceedings, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
While 66% of the respondents said most of this evidence comes from Facebook, 15% said they'd seen evidence from MySpace, 5% cited Twitter and 14% cited other social-networking services.
"Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny. If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence," said Marlene Eskind Moses, AAML's president, in a statement issued this week.
"As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations."
What's more, 81% of 1,600 lawyers surveyed said they'd noticed an increase in evidence from social networking sites used in divorce proceedings, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
While 66% of the respondents said most of this evidence comes from Facebook, 15% said they'd seen evidence from MySpace, 5% cited Twitter and 14% cited other social-networking services.
"Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny. If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence," said Marlene Eskind Moses, AAML's president, in a statement issued this week.
"As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations."