Getting Divorced? Choose Your Facebook Posts Carefully

BOSTON — Now that Facebook has gone public, many are wondering if the social networking site’s bubble will burst under pressure from competitors. One industry that’s hoping Facebook will remain strong? Divorce lawyers.

WBUR’s Morning Edition host Bob Oakes spoke with Cici Van Tine, a divorce attorney with the Worcester-based firm Mirick O’Connell. She estimates Facebook plays a role in 60 to 70 percent of divorce cases she sees — sometimes as the spark that helped cause the break-up in the first place, in the form of cheating.

“Obviously there’s always been vehicles for people to stray, but I do think that there’s a percentage of the population who may not have strayed 10 or 20 years ago, who as a result of social media now do,” Van Tine said. “In the past, if you were experiencing trouble in your marriage, perhaps you’d seek assistance of a counselor or a trusted friend or adviser, and now with the ease of reconnecting with people from your youth, you’re maybe seeking people that you had a relationship with… forgetting that [that relationship] ended for a reason.”

Read More: WBUR