Social media can be a fun outlet for expressing your thoughts and opinions while keeping up with friends and family, but as anyone who’s ever decided to file for divorce can tell you, it has a dark side. And that dark side is so dark that you can make a strong case for staying away from it altogether. That being said, here are our thoughts on why you should stay off social media after your divorce.
1. Social media can be an addiction.
Social media has been proven in studies to tap in to addictive and obsessive behavior. If there are two things you don’t need to be after finalizing your divorce forms, it is addictive and obsessed, and that goes for anything. Instead the end of your marriage needs to be a time of introspection where you reevaluate what you want out of life and work to make improvements on yourself. It’s not a time to be creeping other people’s Facebook pages or looking up old boyfriends and girlfriends. By never getting sucked in to it, you can focus on the things that matter.
2. Social media can be a gateway to further conflict.
The more time you spend on social media after the divorce, the easier it is to get into conflicts with your ex and/or his/her allies and family. Sure, you could just change the privacy settings, but it’s quite easy for word to get around when you had mutual friends, especially if you post something regarding your ex and they see it on the other person’s Facebook page. Besides, most people don’t have the willpower to continue blocking their exes anyway since they want to know if anything is being said about them. It’s a vicious circle of irrational behavior that can cause more conflict, and it’s just not worth your time.
3. Social media can keep you from experiencing life.
This isn’t just true for those of you who filed divorce papers, but everyone obsessed with posting things to their Facebook/Twitter/Instagram pages. You see these people at concerts. They have their phone out recording the act on stage so they can post it later, instead of just living in the moment and experiencing the thrill of it. Here’s the thing. Recordings and pictures are never as great as the live experience. If you’ve just gotten divorced, stop trying to use social media to prove you have a social life or that things are just peachy keen. Instead get out there and make a life worth bragging about. Social media can keep you from doing that.