A third of divorce petitions filed in the UK this year contained the word ‘Facebook’, according to a survey from Divorce-Online.
The survey is a follow-up to a similar study in 2009, which found 20 per cent of petitions cited the social networking website.
The company discovered the most common reasons where Facebook was named in evidence included:
- Inappropriate messages to members of the opposite sex
- Separated couples posting nasty comments about each other
- Facebook friends reporting spouse’s behaviour.
Divorce-Online spokesman Mark Keenan said: “Social networking has become the primary tool for communication and is taking over from text and e-mail in my opinion.
“If someone wants to have an affair or flirt with the opposite sex then the easiest place to do it.
“Also the use of Facebook to make comments about ex partners to friends has become extremely common with both sides using Facebook to vent their grievances against each other.