Is Facebook Ruining Your Marriage? How people who use social media are 32% more likely to leave their spouses

People who use social media are 32per cent more likely to think about leaving their spouses, according to a new study.

Researchers from Boston University found a correlation between social media use, marital issues and divorce.
In particular, they concluded that Facebook is 'a significant predictor of divorce rate and spousal troubles.'
 

The study, which was led by James E. Katz, the Feld Family Professor of Emerging Media Studies at the College of Communication, compared the divorce rate of married individuals in 43 states collected between 2008 and 2010.
To establish 'Facebook penetration', Mr Katz and two co-authors took the number of Facebook accounts and divided it by the state's population. 

The researchers found that a 20per cent increase in Facebook users in a state could be linked to a 2.18per cent growth in the divorce rate.
Even when the co-authors factored in variables such as employment status, age, and race, the correlation remained constant.
Indeed, they found that the correlation could be a 'significant predictor of divorce rates.'
'The study looked at data to understand human behavior as it’s affected by communication technology, especially technologies that are mobile-based,' Mr Katz explained. 

The researchers also examined data gathered in 2011 by the University of Texas at Austin, which asked 1,160 married people aged 18- to 39 how how happy they were in their relationships. 
Non-social network users reported being 11.4per cent more satisfied with their marriages than heavy social media users.
The heavy users reported that they were 32per cent more likely to think about leaving home, which is twice the rate of non-users.
While previous studies have shown that Facebook and other social media sites make it easier to cheat, the researchers theorize that men and women having marital problems may reach out to social media for emotional support.
This is not the first time that Facebook has come under fire for breaking up marriages, and casualties are everywhere.
Lynn France, an occupational therapist from Cleveland, Ohio was shocked when she saw photos on Facebook that proved her husband John was married to someone else - and that he tied the knot as Disney World while dressed as Prince Charming.
'I was numb with shock,' the 41-year old occupational therapist said in 2010. 'There was like an album of 200 pictures on there. Their whole wedding.'
The study, titled 'Social network sites, marriage well-being, and divorce: Survey and state-level evidence from the United States', was recently published online in Computers and Human Behavior.