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Online infidelity to blame for divorce rate

Facebook and other social networking sites aren't just potentially dangerous for children and young teenagers, they are also the official cause for the ending of one in five marriages in the US.

The figure was confirmed to the German Press Agency dpa by leading US divorce lawyer Allan Mantel, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in New York State.

"Google, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter make it easier for a partner to prove infidelity," he says. "The divorce rate in itself hasn't changed significantly. People have always been unfaithful."

Half of the marriages in the US end in divorce.

Celebs also guilty

A recent survey carried out by the AAML revealed that of the affairs uncovered by online means, 66% were proved by means of Facebook, 15% through MySpace, 5% through Twitter and the remaining 15% by lesser known sites.

Even some celebrities have fallen foul of online networking services, as evidenced by reports that Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria has filed for divorce from her husband, professional basketball player Tony Parker.

The pair separated after Longoria discovered Parker was having intimate Facebook contact with another woman, reports said.

(Sapa, December 2010)

Read more:

Breaking up and divorce

Divorce support group

 

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