1 out of 7 divorces is too less, says lawyer.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Obsession with social media can become so acute it even costs some people their marriages, according to CBS Chicago.
The news affiliate reported that divorce because of Facebook or Twitter is a growing problem.
Shari, then married with two kids, told CBS she got hooked on Facebook five or six years ago. She was trying to establish her own event planning business.
“I was spending sometimes 4 or 5 hours a day … when I should have been cooking dinner or reading to my kids or watching a movie with my husband or just talking to my husband,” she said.
She began to post picture after picture of herself, acquired 5,000 Facebook friends and a thousand followers. Eventually, her husband discovered she was exchanging messages with ex-boyfriends, and the verbal sparring began, followed by a divorce.
A growing number of divorcing couples have blamed social media for assuming a role in their divorce — a survey by Censuswide indicates it is in fact one divorce in seven.
“That sounds very low to me to be honest,” said divorce lawyer Christine Svenson to CBS Chicago. “The social media seems to crop up in at least half of my divorce cases.”
Shari is still working to curb her social media habit.
“Believe it or not, I went almost a whole two weeks without really looking at it or posting anything,” she attested. “I kept pulling my hair and biting my nails.”
In 2012 researchers from the University of Bergen conducted a first-of-its-kind study about the ways in which people develop Facebook dependency. They noted people who feel more anxious and socially insecure appreciate how easy it is to communicate via social media as opposed to face-to face.
Conversely, the study found individuals who were more organized and ambitious were at a decreased risk for technology-related addiction as they resort to using the site as an integral part of work and networking.