Going through a divorce in Pennsylvania can be one of the most difficult things you endure. It can be stressful, creating a wide range of emotions and challenges for you and your spouse. Reaching the best possible outcome is important, but when you’re not going through a divorce that is 100% amicable – and often, even if you are – there will be occasions when arguments and disagreements about specifics of the divorce will arise.

Things like property distribution, child custody, child support, and even spousal support can all be major sticking points for couples and lead to significant arguments. Reaching the best possible outcome is important, but many people end up sabotaging their own divorce case without even realizing it. The reason? Social media.

Sites like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook can have a huge impact on your divorce case and if not given the right attention they can damage your case significantly, causing you to lose custody of a child, upping your child support obligation, or even having an impact on what each party gets during equitable distribution.

How is this possible? The key is just to look at how your social media profile can be impacting your divorce. Here are a few examples.

• Long rants about your ex can end up making you look irrational, unstable, or simply responsible for driving them away. Even minor annoyances can be taken out of context on social media. If your spouse or their attorney gets access to these kinds of posts, it can mean big trouble for your divorce case.
• A picture is worth a thousand words. If you’re claiming to be a fit parent for your child to live with, but your Instagram page is filled with photos of you partying with younger people and engaging in risky behavior, it won’t look good to the courts when you try to get custody.
• Similarly, posts about your lavish vacation or photos of your recent cruise can be used to show that you aren’t really as poor as you claim to be during child support hearings. This can influence your case in a big way.

Of course, this works both ways and it may be possible that your spouse’s social media page has some helpful items that you and your attorney can use during the divorce. The key is to remember that social media is something that deserves your respect. Even if you have everything set to ‘private’, it’s still not that hard for someone to get a look at your page.

Use social media wisely to help yourself move through divorce with dignity. It can mean a lot to you, your children, and to your divorce case.