North Carolina residents who are going through a divorce may want to limit their use of social media. The overuse of social media can have a negative impact on court proceedings as well as a person’s emotional well-being. Because a divorce is an emotionally difficult time, a person may be tempted to write negative comments on social media that could later be used in a courtroom by the other party.
Social media pages like Facebook are essentially public diaries in which people post an ongoing report of what they are doing and thinking about. However, on social media, certain posts may end up being taken out of context. For example, a person could use pictures that look like an expensive vacation as evidence that the ex-spouse can afford higher alimony payments. During a child custody battle, one spouse’s social media posts about partying could be used against them.
While social media can create a wealth of evidence for a contentious divorce case, it can also have a negative impact on a divorcing person’s emotional state. A person who is probably going through a very painful experience, could become depressed while scrolling through other people’s public representations of their picture-perfect lives. Because most people only post the positive things in their lives on social media, it can lead to unrealistic comparisons.
A family law attorney may advise a person whose divorce dispute has not yet been settled to refrain from posting too much information on social media. It is hard to undo what has been said, and even posts that have been deleted can sometimes be retrieved.