Social Media and Utah Divorce: 3 Tips
We are on social media all the time.
The average American spends hours per day looking at screens, and much of that time is spent on social media.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. They’re all meant to bring people together.
But what happens when people get divorced?
Well, when people divorce, social media becomes a weapon.
What I mean is people getting divorced try to use social media to gain advantage in the divorce.
Those dumb Tweets you sent five years ago: potential fodder for your divorce.
Those Facebook messages you exchanged with your high school sweetheart last year: potential fodder.
Those Instagram posts from that party you drank a little too much at: you better believe that’s fodder.
So, what should you do with your social media accounts to keep yourself safe during divorce?
- Stop posting (especially stop posting nasty things about your soon-to-be ex).
Stop posting for a few months. You’ll be fine, I promise.
Posting during divorce is usually a bad idea because you tend to post negative things, especially about your soon-to-be ex.
And that’s not good. There’s nothing quite like having to explain a nasty Facebook post to a judge in the middle of a custody battle.
And there’s nothing like negotiating with a person you just called a nasty name on social media last week.
Stop posting until your divorce is done.
- Change your account passwords.
If you’re like me, your spouse knows all your social media account passwords.
That’s fine if you’re married, and that’s not so fine when you’re getting divorced.
Spouses spying on each other constantly, downloading social media info, reading emails without permission. Many spouses will even read the emails you send to your divorce attorney.
Keep this from happening to you: change your passwords.
- Block your spouse from seeing your accounts.
This tip’s more optional than #1 and #2.
Most social medias give you the option of blocking certain people.
While blocking is usually reserved for people you just can’t stand, it’s also useful for keeping you soon-to-be ex from monitoring you online.
The problem with blocking completely is it tends to upset people, so it could erode trust and make your divorce more difficult.
In most cases, I don’t think blocking is necessary.
That said, if you think your spouse is going to use any little thing, no matter how innocent, against you, you may want to block him/her from seeing your social media accounts.
Call Brown Family Law
If you find yourself facing a Utah divorce, please call 801.685.9999 for an in-person consultation, or use our online scheduling tool.
