Statistics from the Pew Research Center show that, as of January 2014, 74 percent of U.S. adults use some type of social networking website. That number will likely only continue to grow as the lines between Americans’ real and virtual lives continue to blur.

People use social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to share ideas, photos and opinions and to connect with old and new friends. It’s this last point that is increasingly becoming a problem in many marriages as unhappy, bored and curious spouses decide to look up and connect with an old or new flames via social media.

Recent research from a UK law firm suggests that Facebook is cited in roughly one-third of all divorces. When you think about the ease with which one can access the Internet via mobile devices and the popularly of social media websites like Facebook, it makes sense that these types of sites have become a medium for extra-marital cheating and affairs.

When it comes to social media, infidelity and divorce; individuals would be wise to be extremely cautious when posting comments and photographs online. In some cases, an ex’s divorce attorney may be able to use evidence gathered from an individual’s social media accounts as evidence in divorce or child custody proceedings. For example, a spouse’s extramarital affair may be discovered or confirmed or a parent’s fitness may be called into question using social media evidence.

Maryland residents who are going through a divorce would be wise to review and gather evidence from an ex’s social media accounts. Increasingly, information contained on sites like Facebook and Twitter provide compelling evidence that can serve to benefit an individual during divorce and child custody proceedings.

Source: WFTS-TV, “Till death do us part,” unless Facebook causes you to divorce first,” Jason Beisel, Jan. 22, 2015