By David

Nowadays, most people cannot imagine
their life without social media. More than 2.77 billion users of social
networks, forums, and blogs make up about 40% of the world’s population. On
average, social media takes up around 30% of the overall time spent online.
While there’s nothing wrong with having a Facebook or Twitter account, the
information in them can be used against their owner.

Can Social Media Affect the
Divorce Outcome?

Judicial practice these days takes into
account changes in the information world and uses them to its advantage. For
example, in divorce proceedings, judges have begun to accept evidence in the
form of screenshots from social accounts, recordings of conversations from
instant messengers, and comments on various websites. As reported by CompleteCase.com,
24% of marriages ended last year because of infidelity, and 27% of spouses
found out about the affair by reading their partner’s online messages.

At the moment, social networks are essentially
a massive database with a wide variety of information about hundreds of
millions of people worldwide. It is an inexhaustible source of personal
information about its users. It means that our profiles, messages, and emails
are very much accessible to other people. Therefore, when starting a divorce
process, you need to carefully control all your activities on the Internet and
make the most of it for your benefit. All you need is to follow a few
fundamental rules while on social media to contribute to your divorce’s desired
outcome.

How you can benefit from social
media

Social media, such as Twitter, Facebook,
Snapchat, and many others, are colossal storage of valuable information. It can
be used in many various ways, including enhancing your chances of obtaining the
post-divorce terms you want. Below we offer several options on benefiting from
combining activities on social media and divorce proceedings.

Use lawfully obtained
information.

Comments, posts, photos, and videos that
your spouse shares on social networks seem inconsistent at first glance, but
they carry valuable information that may be used for your benefit. We are not
suggesting watching your spouse’s every move and looking for skeletons in the
closet. Use only publicly available information, such as Twitter posts,
comments on Reddit, or videos on YouTube. For example, show the judge a photo
from Instagram with your spouse’s unworthy behavior or screenshots of offensive
statements addressed to you.

But be careful. Remember that you cannot
use your spouse’s password to log into their account and gather the information
you need. The illegally obtained information is not admissible in courts and
may get you in trouble since it’s basically hacking, which is against the
federal law.

Be careful with your
communication style.

Good manners and common sense are very
relevant when communicating on social media. Be honest, considerate, and polite.
Your active use of social media during a divorce should become an instrument of
building your positive image. If you post something online during your divorce
proceedings, choose only positive and truthful information. Use a neutral tone
in all your messages and comments, and refrain from direct insults towards your
spouse. The court can interpret harsh criticism and offensive statements as a
tendency to aggression.

Remember that even if you delete your
comments and posts right after their publication, they still can emerge at the
most inopportune moment, for nothing disappears …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

Author: Aaron