Social media can be a very beneficial tool. If you are high-profile or a successful professional, your social media presence may establish your brand and help you connect with potential customers or clients.
Even if you keep your social media use relatively private, it can also be a powerful tool for connecting with your support network during difficult times in your life. Unfortunately, social media can also cause significant complications for those going through legal entanglements, such as divorce.
There are multiple ways in which your social media use could potentially impact your upcoming or ongoing divorce.
Your ex could use your positive posts as proof of infidelity or hidden assets
Some people are vulnerable and open about their experiences during a divorce. Other people prefer to put on a mask and act like everything is okay. Sharing positive content can help you emphasize the good things happening in your life at a time when it seems like almost everything is negative.
Unfortunately, whether you want to show that you are enjoying a day out shopping with your children or experiencing the excitement of a date with someone that you really like, the things that you share during your divorce could wind up serving as evidence against you during divorce proceedings.
Your ex might point to certain behaviors as proof that you have more assets than you’ve claimed or that you have intentionally diminished marital assets. They could also potentially point to posts about a new relationship as evidence of infidelity.
Honest or negative content might also hurt your legal case
You might see social media as a way to vent your frustrations and connect with your broader network of social support during a difficult time. Unfortunately, sharing details such as allegations of infidelity or spousal abuse online might constitute defamation in some cases. Other times, the things you say about your spouse might violate a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
Your social media content could also help your spouse show the courts that you don’t intend to work with them as co-parents, possibly making you seem like a risk for parental alienation.
Being circumspect about what you share online or even deciding to forego social media entirely during a high asset divorce is often a better tactic then openly sharing and risking the repercussions of your ex using your online platform against you.