8 Ways Facebook Can Destroy Your Marriage

2. Letting Facebook dominate every waking moment of the day. The smart phone allows people to be a few thumb clicks away from Facebook, and access their News Feed anyplace, anytime. This in turn can feed an addictive personality, and create a co-dependency with the site. Comparing the new and exciting information people are posting online, with the drab and boring events from one's own real-time existence can create all kinds of problems. 10 Simple Ways To Tell Your Marriage Is Over For Good

3. Airing dirty laundry via status updates. The "What's on your mind" question in the Status Update box is there as a suggestion, not a command. Relationships have good times and bad times. Using Facebook to announce marriage problems, debate marital issues, or rant on a spouse is only going to make a conflicted relationship more "complicated".

4. Over-sharing on relationship problems with others through chat. Divulging marital issues through a private, real time interaction with someone other than your spouse creates intimacy with that person. Depending on the motives of one or both people in the chat session, the conversation can quickly evolve from sharing about a current, bad marriage to setting a foundation for starting a new relationship.

5. Caring for online citizens in Cityville or virtual animals in Farmville more than real-time family and spouse. Playing games on Facebook is wildly popular. The excitement of the online game, the notification of new resources to help advance in the game, and the exchange of items for the game can leave real-time families and spouses craving real care and attention.

6. Flirting on public posts, pictures and profiles. Commenting is a part of the Facebook culture. Watching what you post (and how it comes across to others) is part of online etiquette; it's essential to ensure that comments are not inappropriate. Flirting with no one but your spouse is a part of fulfilling the wedding vows, yet is often conveniently forgotten while using Facebook. 8 Ways To Tell If You Are Really Ready For Marriage

7. Friending people who directly or indirectly threaten the marriage. The Facebook login page says "Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life." Depending on who the people in your past and current life are, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. If the person you've just friended has a negative effect on your marriage, it can lead to irreparable damage to your relationship. These people include, but are not limited to: exes, negative influences, flirts, wacky family members, and crude friends. 

8. Refusing to talk about what happens on Facebook with your spouse. Facebook is no longer a topic for "water cooler" discussions because it is the water cooler. If it is something everyone is talking about, and it is where people spend a considerable amount of time each day, why shut your spouse out of this part of your life? Taking Facebook off the table for discussion indicates that there could be something that someone is hiding. Stonewalling on Facebook (or any other issue) is fatal for a marriage.

This article was originally published at . Reprinted with permission from the author.