Facebook has been named the cause of 1 in 5 divorces in the US

A recent study published in the popular science magazine, “Computers in Human Behavior,” compared state-by-state divorce rates to per-capita Facebook accounts. This study found a certain pattern between social media use and decreased marriage quality in every analyzed model. It became clear that a 20% annual increase in Facebook enrollment was associated with a 2.18% to 4.32% increase in general divorce rates all over the US.

This means that an excessive fascination with social networks, whose leaders include Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, is cited as the reason for 1 in 5 of all petitions for divorce proceedings. Today, no-fault divorce proceedings in an uncontested form prevail in family law. In such cases, the court does not require the applicant to formulate the mandatory grounds for divorce, but independent surveys confirm such statistics.

Similar data is also voiced by the statistics of one of the leading web services for divorce document preparation, OnlineDivorce.com. “Since the necessary official papers for filing for divorce are generated based on information provided directly by the clients during a survey, it was found that, among other things, social networks are mentioned as a reason for divorce in more than 14% of cases.” - said Andriy Bogdanov, CEO of Online Divorce.

At the same time, the other sociological study’s model from the individual survey results predicts that people who do not use social media are 11% happier in their marriages than those who regularly use social media. But is everything so clear, and are Facebook’s overwhelming popularity and other resources really to blame for such an alarming trend for society? Or, perhaps, it is easier for spouses in unhappy marriages to blame outside factors for their unsuccessful relationships but not admit their own mistakes?

Social media rises again in the ranking of the most common reasons for divorce!

Social media has changed the way modern people meet and interact with each other. It provides a platform to learn more about people we associate with. This can be a problem, however, when it comes to romantic relationships. Recent sociological research showed that increased social media usage might lead to marital problems, infidelity, and divorce. But why is this happening everywhere and turning into a trend?

It’s not only what a person does on social media but also how much time they spend doing it that creates conflict. Excessive time spent on social media has been shown to negatively impact romantic relationships. Thus, the seemingly far-fetched and funny at first glance claim that one of the partners has been on Facebook for too long can turn from an eccentric whim into a well-founded reason for a damaged marriage.

It is also worth mentioning that social media provides easy access for a jealous or suspicious spouse to seek out information about the interactions of their significant other. Whether suspicions are founded or unfounded, people often feel uneasy about their relationship after discovering something on their partner’s social network account. This often leads to increased monitoring, jealousy, and conflict in the relationship.

Real addiction or conscious escape from reality?

Experts have talked about deviations in social behavior caused by the passion for social networks and their impact on personal and family life for a long time. However, looking on Facebook for the root cause as the "source of evil" is not entirely correct. Social networks are just one of the forms of information shells that can replace various manifestations of real life for a person.

In 1953, legendary science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, in his cult dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451, described an episode with the protagonist's wife’s television addiction. She replaced any social connections and family life by watching soap operas. Although, even then, in the case of television, and today in the case of social networks, it is hardly appropriate to consider excessive enthusiasm for these phenomena as a form of addiction.

In any case, this is a conscious choice, and mental distance from the family or deterioration of marital relations is the consequence of a whole complex of reasons. In the meantime, only face-to-face communication will have the most effective therapeutic effect in which the couple talks over topics of concern.

Sociologists rely solely on dry numbers from research data and the obvious connection between the popularity of social networks and an increase in the divorce rate. While family psychologists are sure that the problem cannot be ignored, it is essential to understand its root cause. Are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and even Twitter so "evil,” given the fact that about 30% of American users of the Tinder app are officially married?