Facebook is becoming a major factor in marriage breakdowns and is increasingly being used as a source of evidence in divorce cases, according to lawyers.

The social networking site was cited as a reason for a third of divorces last year in which unreasonable behaviour was a factor, according to law firm Divorce-Online.

The firm said it had seen a 50 percent jump in the number of behaviour-based divorce petitions that contained the word ‘Facebook’ in the past two years.

Mark Keenan, managing director of Divorce-Online, said: ‘Facebook has become the primary method for communicating with friends for many people.

'People contact ex-partners and the messages start as innocent, but lead to trouble.

‘If someone wants to have an affair or flirt with the opposite sex then it’s the easiest place to do it.’

Thirty-three percent of the 5,000 behaviour petitions filed with the firm in the past year mentioned the site.

The most common reasons for Facebook causing problems in relationships were a spouse finding flirty messages, photos of their partner at a party they did not know about or with someone they should not have been with.

Anne-Marie Hutchinson, at Dawson Cornwell Solicitors, said: ‘If you are keeping things from your partner, Facebook makes it so much easier for them to find out.’

She said the site can be used as evidence of unreasonable behaviour, adding: ‘If you are complaining that they have a drinking problem and they have posted statuses about going out on the razzle... that could be used.’

Mr Keenan said he warned his clients to keep off Facebook while going through divorce proceedings.

He added: ‘People need to be careful what they put on Facebook as the courts are now seeing a lot more evidence being introduced from people’s walls and posts in disputes over finances and children.’
据律师透露，Facebook正日益成为婚姻破裂的一大主因，而且越来越多地在离婚案件中被用作证据来源。

据律师事务所“离婚在线”称，去年那些因“不合理行为”离婚的案件中有三分之一将社交网站作为离婚原因之一。

该事务所称在过去两年内因不合理行为提出的离婚诉讼中，含有Facebook一词的起诉书比例增加了50%。

“离婚在线”的总经理马克•基南说：“Facebook已成为很多人和朋友交流的主要方式。”

“人们用Facebook和以前的情人或配偶联系，他们最开始发送信息的动机是单纯的，但却招来了麻烦。”

“如果有人想和异性搞婚外恋或调情，那么在Facebook上最容易做到。”

去年提交给该事务所的5000份因不合理行为提出的离婚诉讼中，有33%提到了这一社交网站。

Facebook导致感情危机最常见的原因是配偶发现调情的信息，伴侣在自己不知道的派对上的照片，或伴侣和某个不该见面的人在一起的照片。

道森•康威尔律师事务所的安妮-玛丽•哈钦森说：“如果你向伴侣隐瞒了事情，Facebook会让他们更轻易地发现这些事情。”

她说，该网站可被用作“不合理行为”的证据。哈钦森补充说：“如果你正抱怨伴侣有酗酒问题，而他们的Facebook状态更新有“外出狂欢”相关内容，你就可以用这个作证。”

基南说，他警告自己的客户在打离婚官司期间，要远离Facebook。

他补充道：“人们需要当心自己放在Facebook上的东西，因为现在法院受理的争夺财产和子女的离婚案件中，看到的来自人们Facebook留言板和上传图文的证据比以前多得多。”

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