May 08, 2015
If you're newly married and active on social media, you may want want to take extra care not to let your online activity or suspicions erode an otherwise great relationship.
New research conducted by U.K. employment law firm Slater and Gordon finds that social media has become a major source of marital tension.
The study of 2,000 married Brits found that nearly a quarter had at least one argument per week because of social media use, while 17 percent said it created daily arguments.
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Andrew Newbury, who heads family law Slater and Gordon, said that while social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, it has increasingly become a divisive force.
“Five years ago Facebook was rarely mentioned in the context of a marriage ending, but now it has become common place for clients to cite social media use, or something they discovered on social media, as a reason for divorce," Newbury said.
It's not just behavior on social media that causes problems, either. The study found even the amount of time spent on Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, Twitter, and WhatsApp leads to issues between married couples.
A full fifth of those surveyed said that they felt uneasy about their relationship after a discovery on social media, with 43 percent immediately confronting their spouse and 40 percent taking time to think it through.
Newbury says Slater and Gordon now actively advises clients to exercise caution on Facebook and other forms of social media.
Read more from the study.
