Facebook is a complex trap for divorce litigants.  Even if you do not post on Facebook and you just watch what your friends are doing on Facebook, you can still fan the flames of discord in your divorce.  The “Like” button has become an issue in some divorces that I have seen.  So before you press “like” for someone else’s post consider this.

In some cases it is rather obvious why pressing “like” can cause a problem.  For example,  I had a case where the wife’s brother posted on Facebook a death threat against the Husband.  The wife “liked” the threating post.  This was not as bad as if the wife posted the threat herself, but it did not look good for the custodial parent to “like” that someone wanted to hurt the father of her children.

In some cases it is not so clear.  In another case with which I am familiar, the husband had an affair.  The wife is an avid Facebook user and has posted nothing about the affair or their marital strife.  However, she “likes” pages such as “Cheaters Suck” and “My Stupid Husband”.  Now these pages are not as obvious a shot at her husband as “To all the women my ex-husband cheated with…. THANK YOU!!” – Yes, there is such a page.  But nevertheless, liking these pages sends a clear message.

We must keep in mind that  the pages we like say something about us and what we are thinking.  These “likes” are seen by many people.  In some cases they are seen by the children of the divorcing parties, who also use Facebook.  And if the kids are not on Facebook, you can bet that some of their friends or the siblings of their friends are.

So again, my advice is stay off of Facebook and other social media while you are getting divorced.  We all lived very happily before social media invaded our lives and despite what most people believe, we can live very well without it.