Social media not to blame for divorce rate

Chinese actress Ge Tian, ex-wife of retired Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang, left, accompanied by her mother, walks at the terminal of the Beijing Capital International Airport after arriving in Beijing, China, 25 June 2015. [Photo/IC]

The divorce rate in China has been increasing for the past 12 years with about 1 in every 3 marriages ending in divorce, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Lu Mingsheng, a law expert with the China Law Society, attributes the dramatic rise in the divorce rate partly to social media. "We have learned from some lawyers that more than half of the divorce cases they have handled in recent years were caused by extramarital affairs. Social media-equipped smartphones are the most likely tools that lead to extramarital affairs that have become the new killer of marriages." Comments:

It's true that the rising divorce rate and the rise of social media have coincided, but that doesn't mean social media are to blame for the increasing divorce rate. Although it seems people cannot live without social media, there is no relation between divorce and social media. The only thing that kills a marriage is loss of love. If a marriage is happy, it will not cause loneliness. Feeling lonely is a sign of an unhappy marriage. If anything, the popularity of social media is partly the result of unhappy marriages.

Beijing News, July 6

Even when telecommunications were underdeveloped in China, the divorce rate was rising for various reasons. When society transforms fast, people generally lack effective means to handle the pressures imposed on marriages. The rise in the divorce rate, as a social phenomenon, has been caused by humans, not electronic tools. Young people today are more self-centered than their predecessors and averse to compromises in conjugal life. That is also an important reason for the rise in the divorce rate.

China National Radio, July 6

The macro-control policies of the real estate sector in many cities force some couples to divorce in order to evade the high purchase tax and obtain a quota to buy a new house. Society has also changed and many people no longer see divorce as a shame. Increasingly, divorce is being seen as a means to a new beginning in the search for a happy life. More importantly, many new marriages are built upon complicated material conditions or promises when a marriage should be built on pure love. Divorce is caused by emotional factors, instead of the advancement of telecom tools.

Southern Metropolis Daily, July 6