Facebook and Divorce: Watch Your Posts
Facebook and divorce don’t often mix very well. Your Facebook account is a treasure trove of information about you:
- What you like
- What you do for fun
- Where you go
- Whom you’re with
Publishing that kind of information can hurt your divorce or modification case. The internet has a long memory.
Not Your Best Selfie
Did you know you can get a complete copy of your Facebook data? This data includes ALL of the following information:
- List of your friends
- Your photographs, profile pictures
- Facebook Messenger messages
- Posts including status updates, live posts, likes, shares, and check-ins.
- All posts that you have deleted.
That’s some scary stuff. The opposing party can pick and choose from your Facebook posts. As a result, your ex may depict you as a party animal, an unfit parent, a workaholic, or a flirtatious spouse.
Consider how a judge or jury might view these sample Facebook posts.
Facebook and Divorce Party Mom
- Activity: drinking wine with the girls tonight. #GNO #vino #momsnightout
- Likes: 27 posts by her former high school boyfriend
- Status: I’m feeding my children cookies for dinner because I’m #FeelingTired. #chocolateisavegetable
- Status: Bought only a box of Cheerios and a big bottle of wine at the grocery store! #notadulting
- Profile Pic: Middle finger and a tube top.
Facebook and Judgmental Dad
- Status: Donald Trump is right about Muslim immigrants. #buildawall #notapeacefulreligion
- Activity: Working late. #allaboutthebenjamins
- Activity: Carrying his gun to his kid’s soccer game. #nra #constitutionalrights
- Status: Women can be so irrational. #thattimeofthemonth #bitchiscrazy
- Location: At the driving range. #anywherebuthome
In contrast to their Facebook posts, these parents above are probably actually lovely people. They may be good, involved parents. But, a skewed presentation of their posts nevertheless gives a negative impression.
The other side will certainly use your Facebook posts to create a narrative about you. For example:
- Mom drinks too much wine and spends money frivolously.
- Dad doesn’t think the rules apply to him and spends too much time away from his family.
These trial narratives could make a difference in their cases in your divorce case or in a custody modification. Remember, trial is not about what you know. Most importantly, it’s about what you can prove.
Three Good Rules for Facebook
Be careful about what you post on social media, especially if you are contemplating a divorce. You may not be able to “undo” the posts you’ve already made. Your ex is probably taking notes and building his/her case. But, you can however overcome negative Facebook posts:
- Post positive images.
- Say nice things.
- Don’t glamorize negative behavior.
Besides, if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.