Earlier today I appeared on Daybreak, not once but twice! I was invited on at the beginning of the programme and again after the 8 ‘o’ clock news, to discuss a study showing that the rise of smartphones and social media has led to a surge in infidelity and fraud.
Perhaps it isn’t surprising that the internet has become a tool for infidelity, given that technology now looms so large in everything we do. For evidence of its presence in our everyday lives, look no further than the iPads on which presenters Lorraine Kelly and Aled Jones are tapping away throughout the segment (above).
My second appearance on the programme was alongside a lady called Karen, who likes to date married men. She meets men online, via one of those specialist dating websites catering to married men and women. In her words, such sites are frequented by married men who are “actively seeking a mistress”.
Karen argued that the rise of the internet had benefited those in search of “no strings attached” affairs. She also said that there were “various different ways of doing this properly”. As you can see in the clip above, I fiercely disagreed with Karen on this point! As a divorce lawyer I see the fallout of “doing it properly”: namely, the damaging consequences for families.
As I have written previously, phones, e-mail and social media sites all lend themselves to private communications, away from prying eyes and ears. Dating sites and messaging services are gateways to new liaisons. However, modern technology’s “footprint” – its trail of evidence – is not difficult to follow.
