3 Most Common Tech Issues in a Divorce
by Elizabeth Harper for Techlicious
Technology continues to make our lives easier. However, for some troubled marriages and relationships – technology only makes things worse.–PC Pitstop.
Technology has changed our lives in many ways — and complicated them as well. If you’re in a rocky relationship or marriage, the technology you rely on can make a break-up or divorce even more challenging. “These tech-related problems are seldom the worst ones for people who are considering divorce,” explains Virginia L. Colin, Ph.D., a professional family mediator. “But they are not always minor problems. Everything is connected to everything for a lot of couples.”
But with foresight and perhaps some help from a family mediator, marriage counselor or lawyer, you can dodge these common tech snags whether you’re getting divorced, separating or just going through a rough patch. We spoke to experts in the field about the most common tech issues in divorces.
1. Playing nice on social networks
If you’re having relationship trouble, it’s only natural to want to talk to your friends about it. But what you’re sharing on a social network isn’t private. “The information that people gather from each other’s social media sites and pages, that’s becoming a lot more prevalent,” explains Lori Barkus, a Florida-based family law attorney. “People tend to post a lot of things on Facebook. That information gets spread, and in divorce, people have mutual friends or they have ways of looking at each other’s information.”
Sharing that information can cause big problems if you’re saying things that you don’t want your spouse to be privy to. If you’re already fighting, something shared can make those fights a lot worse or even become fuel for divorce proceedings.
“Online dating services would probably be a close second,” Barkus continues.
There’s an easy solution to oversharing, and it’s a good rule for social networking etiquette in general. If you wouldn’t say something to your spouse’s face, you probably shouldn’t share it on a social network, even privately. Chances are you have mutual friends, and what you say will eventually come back around.
If you’re having issues and you don’t know how to bring them up with your spouse, it might be time to consider talking to a professional family mediator or marriage counselor who can help you work through things. It’s certainly more likely to help than talking on a social network.
This excerpt appears with the permission of Techlicious.
