Only twenty years ago, people would rely on television news or the local paper in order to keep up with daily life. They would rely on the journalists employed by those outlets to keep them abreast of all the news, whether international or regional, and would have little input over its content. The world is a very different place today, however, with the advent of social media and the widespread use of the Internet. After all, it is now possible to create the news yourself or to comment or influence a story directly, for good or for ill. It's difficult to know whether this is an improvement or whether it gives people freedom, but it can certainly create problems that would never have existed before. This may be particularly the case for people who are unfortunate enough to be going through a separation, and if you're in this situation, why should you take extra care?

Online Access

The majority of Australians have at least one social media account and are able to post a message within seconds that can be read by hundreds or even thousands of people. Most of the time this material may be quite innocent and designed purely for entertainment, but sometimes there may be malice at heart and the information posted may be very controversial.

Temptation

When two people are going through a testy separation, tempers can certainly be frayed. They may be tempted to post something online out of spite or to let off some steam, and this is never a good situation to be in.

Contravening the Law

It can be even more dangerous when the two people are directly involved in a court case, where judges are trying to work out a path forward. Some of the information may be privileged, and the law may require all of the individuals to refrain from discussing (or posting) anything outside the court.

Other laws are now coming into place to protect individuals in a failed relationship so that sensitive photographs are not posted online in order to embarrass the individual.

Getting Advice

If you're going through this situation and are finding it difficult to control your temper, you should keep away from all of your social media sites. If that's difficult, talk with your family law attorney to determine exactly what you can and cannot post when you go online so that you do not get on the wrong side of the law.

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