Facebook may be Breaking Up Families: Marriage Counselors

According to marriage counsellors, social networking sites such as Facebook are taking happiness out of marriages and contributing to separations and divorces.

The experts believe that 40 and 50-somethings often try getting in touch with their childhood sweethearts, putting their existing relationship in strife.

British divorce firm Divorce-Online revealed Facebook was cited in one-fifth of the divorce petitions it processed last year, The Sunday Mail reports.

Also, Australian Family Relationships Clearing House manager Elly Robinson insisted online dating is affecting households.

"People will come in (for counselling) where one partner may deny their online behaviour has been any sort of problem, but the issue is ... if it's upsetting one of those people in the relationship, it's a problem," News.com.au quoted her as saying.

She added: "Relationships develop more quickly online because inhibitions are lowered, it's easy to exchange information, people are online 24/7, there's an (endless) amount of people you can link up with who are there for the same reason, real life pressures fade away ... it's a bit of a fantasy world."

Also, Relationships Australia vice-president Anne Hollonds said: "The internet doesn't make people have affairs."

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"It's become the pathway of choice for many people but I don't think that means the internet is breaking up families," she said.

She added: "Everyone has some degree of fantasy about a love that might have been from the past and the technology now helps you find these people.

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"But there's no evidence to suggest that had the technology not been available, you wouldn't have had an affair with someone else anyway."

Source-ANI
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