if you watch the news or read almost any magazine today you will have confronted a headline that reads something like this: DOES FACEBOOK CAUSE DIVORCE?. The answer to that question, in my opinion, is a definitive NO. Divorce is difficult to comprehend and an unwelcome disruption for many people. A swith illnesses or other tragedies, we often look to find a ready made solution. In today’s digital world, Facebook has become a convenient “cause” for divorce.
There is no one uniform cause or reason for a divorce. I have seen a multiude of factors which lead people to seek a divorce. Many times it is certain behaviors on the part of the spouse that make a divorce necessary. Facebook allows for easy communication between friends and re-connecting with old friends and, perhaps, old loves. But the simple act of connecting does not cause a divorce. Is this were true, people would have been blaming the phonebook for their divorce! in my view, social medial outlets such as Facebook can create two conditions which may feed off one another and exacerbate the personal feelings that may lead to a divorce.
First, despite being social in nature, outlets such as Facebook can become time consuming which leads to isolation and break down of communication between the spouses. This reality can build feelings of lonliness and resentment. Overtime, these feelings can become rather destructive.
Connecting with friends and family can also create the often misguided belief that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Viewing pictures, reading about trips, accomplishments of children, and similar milestones can make the reader feel jealous or insecure. These feeling drive a need for a change and that change is often divorce.
Whatever personal feelings are leading to a divorce existed before, and independent of, Facebook.
