Sharenting and divorce: How social media can affect your family court case

WHAT you post online can come back to haunt you, as some people have learnt the hard way.

An example of what not to do on social media

SOCIAL media has given us the opportunity to share more than ever before with our family and friends. It’s an amazing way to keep up to date with our loved ones and it’s also a great way to make new connections in the world.

It’s important to remember too, that once you put something out into the world, it isn’t very easy to take it back. Deleting a post does not mean it’s completely gone.

Kidspot asked solicitors Nicole Sloane and Jenna Thirtle from Family Law Matters for their thoughts.

“Parents really do need to be careful about what they post on Facebook as these posts can be used as evidence in a parenting matter, depending on the contents of course,” Jenna and Nicole said.

This is wrong in so many ways.

“This extends beyond Facebook to all social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat as well as online dating sites and applications including those such as eharmony and Tinder.

“Ultimately, social media platforms are public forums and depending on privacy settings, whatever is shared on these sites forms part of the public domain and can often be accessed by anybody at any time.”

It might seem fun to let loose on Facebook or Insta after you’ve had a couple of drinks, but keep in mind it might not seem so funny when you sober up and find it being brought up in a family court case as evidence that you are an unfit parent.

It seems out there, but it has happened. The solicitors from Family Law Matters told Kidspot of a family court case from 2013 when a mother’s posts on Facebook were relied upon to assess the mother’s involvement with illicit drugs.

Full list of what can get you in trouble here: Kidspot.