Social media is the information network of the modern age. News, funny stories and details about people’s personal lives abound.
People use social media platforms to share milestones in their life and connect with others on personal and professional levels. However, as useful a tool as social media can be, people tend to be laxer in what they post than in what they would say to a person, which can have implications for child custody.
Revealing dangers to the children
Posting pictures is a common way people share their lives with others online. Pictures often have details that reveal secrets. For instance, if there are many empty alcohol bottles lying around a dingy room and a firearm or illicit substances and devices openly displayed on a coffee table in an image, a judge may conclude that these indicate a danger to the children and restrict visitation with the parent who posted the photograph.
Revealing parental alienation
For many, social media also serves as a way to call people out or as a venting outlet. Parents may use it to trash-talk their co-parents. They may also reveal how they talk poorly about the other parents to the children, which may constitute parental alienation. While simply talking poorly of the other parent is not illegal, doing so to the children in a way that harmfully affects their relationship with the said other parent may serve as grounds to file for custody modifications.
Even if there is no intention of harm in a post, what parents put online matters. It can serve as evidence that a parent is creating a harmful environment for the children, affecting parental rights.
