Some people love sharing parts of their life on social media, but if you are in the divorce process you need to be extremely careful with what you put on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and other platforms.
To help you wisely choose what should remain private or go public in the social media realm, we have listed five common social media mistakes people make during their divorce.
- Failing to update your “friends” list: If you and your spouse are splitting up, it is time to clean out his or her friends from your social media circles. While you should never post anything you’re not okay with the entire world viewing, you don’t need someone sharing every one of your posts with your divorcing spouse.
- Assuming your friends are truly your friends: On Facebook they’re known as “friends,” on Twitter they are your “followers.” Whatever you call the people who can see what you post online, it is important to realize that some of these people are probably not as loyal to you as you think. Assume that everything you publish online will be seen by the entire world, including your divorcing spouse and his or her attorney.
- Posting your purchases: Maybe you just needed to “get away” because of the stress of your divorce and you landed an inexpensive weekend vacation. If you are claiming that money is extremely tight in your divorce, understand that posting vacation info or recent product purchases on social media may send the wrong message about your finances.
- Posting with emotion: Are you feeling angry, upset or extremely sad? Pick up the phone and call a trusted family member or friend, but social media is not a good way to consolation during the divorce process. Using social media under the influence of emotion can create damaging or embarrassing evidence in your divorce case.
- Allowing others to damage your case: Even if you are carefully following the aforementioned rules, all it takes is one friend to ruin it for you. Even the best-intentioned friend could post a photo or blurb about you that could impact your divorce. We recommend changing your Facebook settings to require permission before another person can post something on your “wall,” or photo album.
If you can only remember one thing about this blog post, remember that you should never post anything you wouldn’t want your spouse – or his or her lawyer – to see. Assume everything you do on social media will potentially be evidence in your divorce.
