Facebook Blamed For Higher Divorce Rate

Bengkulu (Antara Bali) - The social networking service Facebook has become quite popular in  Indonesia but it is  now believed to be a factor contributing to a rapid increase in the  divorce rate, a local religious court official said.

The South Bengkulu religious court which handles  divorce suits had recorded a total of 26 divorce cases since January 2, 2012, a number almost twice as high as in a corresponding period in 2011,  Zulkardi Ridwan, the court's chief, said here Thursday.

Most of the divorce cases had come about because one of the parties had developed a virtual relationship with a third person through Facebook, Zulkardi said.

Most of the suing parties were housewives who had discovered that  their spouse was having an affair with another woman he got acquainted with through the internet.

Most of the couples who had to end their marital relationship had been married  for 2-6 years with one or two children, and the divorce suits were usually filed after the husband had abandoned the family.

The theory that  Facebook or other internet media is to blame for the increase in the  divorce rate at the beginning of 2012 was shared by the local religious court's clerk, Anasrullah.

According to Annasrullah's estimate, the divorce rate in 2012 would  continue to rise as shown  by the number of cases that had been filed and reached the mediation process by mid-January 2012.

In 2011 the court had  recorded  448 divorce cases of which  only 245  resulted in the immediate termination of the marital bond while in January 2011 only 12 cases were filed but in 2012 the number was approaching  30.

Despite the fact that divorce cases were increasing, the court's judges continue to apply the principle of always trying to persuade the two couple to reunites.

The judge also explain the negative impact for families and children are especially gifted children the couple already, but it all depends on whether the applicant is filing for divorce to be proceed or reunited.

"Based on previous experience, if the case has been filed, only a handful of couples are successfully reunited, the rest mostly divorce," he said.(T007)