In today’s society, social media plays an important role in the lives of many people. We use social media to share mementos of our daily activities with our friends and family, to stay in touch with high school and or college friends that live far away, and at times to make negative comments about others.
Our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators at Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. routinely conduct mediations where one or both parties bring copies of comments that the other party placed on Twitter and Facebook as well as text messages and email. Although social media makes it easy to stay in contact with other, it also exposes a person’s actions, statements, and schedule. When it comes to Facebook, some people post where they are on a daily basis, including expensive restaurant and exotic vacations.
Our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators have, in more than one instance, seen one party use these posts to show that the other parties’ financial affidavit is incorrect or to show that spousal support is not necessary, for example. At Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc., we have also been involved in mediations where a posting on social media or a text message was the main issue which led either a husband or a wife decides to file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
At Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. we have seen numerous instances where after a husband and wife have separated but prior to a final judgment of dissolution of marriage being granted, one or both parties turn to Facebook or Twitter to post nasty comments about each other on their “wall”. Nothing good can come from sharing such personal information on social media during a divorce!
These types of comments not only affects the parties, but it also can cause friends and family members of the spouses to become involved in divorce process and post negative things which then may cause even more people to get involved. This type of behavior makes it very likely that negotiations at mediation to settle a divorce will be very acrimonious – which also means that by airing a little dirty laundry on social media the divorce will become much more expensive. While this is obviously good for the attorneys involved in the case, it is counter-productive in terms of resolving the divorce at mediation.
Our Florida Supreme Court Certified Mediators at Mediation of Coral Springs, Inc. realize that spouses who are going through a divorce are often under a lot of stress, so during the case it is advisable that both of them best thing to do may be to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of social media while the case in pending in a Florida Family Law Court.
It is very important that both spouses understand that whatever they post on the internet through social media can be permanent because others save or download these posts. It is also important to think about your life after a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage has been granted. If you have children, you are going to have to see your former husband or wife on a regular basis. So before posting anything negative, you should understand the consequences.