#Facebook poking can be used against you in a court of law!
Monday, February 21, 2011 at 12:03PM#TalkNerdyToMeLover’s Polly Dixon
It can….because the POKE has the potential to turn into a lot more. A poke can mean a simple hello but it also has ridiculous sexual innuendo. Who are we kidding?
The problem comes down to WHO is doing the poking. My girlfriends? Fine. Hi. I love you/miss you – poke away. My guy friends? Awesome. I think you are cute too. Let’s poke. My girlfriends’ HUSBANDS?!? Ehhh… I don’t know. I think it’s odd. I mean, should I let my girlfriend know that her husband is poking me? Or is that even weird that I’m weirded out by it? Is saying something just asking for drama? Frankly, I think the poke is like flirting and how much poking/flirting is considered too much in a relationship? I think if I found out my significant other was poking another girl, I would be irritated. And that irritation could lead to some trust issues. And then those trust issues could lead to relationship problems! Right?
Being the legal nerd that I am (always trying to stay out of trouble), I wondered if anyone had gotten into trouble due to poking or if broken relationships could be attributed to the Facebook poke. Turns out, THERE HAS! Beware – the POKE can turn out to be a lot more than just a click of a button!! Especially if your poking has led to downright dirty messaging.
A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers shows that 81% of the country’s divorce attorneys have seen an increase in social networking evidence! This means that what you do and say and poke on Facebook can be used against you in a court of law. And if your break up is NASTY, watch out! Apparently, some woman was ARRESTED in Tennessee (October 2009) for allegedly violating a protective order by poking another woman. While protective orders are mostly about physical danger, they are also about keeping someone away from you. Because poking is a deliberate action – because you pick who you want to poke, it could essentially be a violation of an order. I couldn’t find anything about the outcome of this but better to be safe than sorry.
Makes sense – Facebook makes it so much easier to cheat but also to get caught! I mean, just because you aren’t friends with your ex on The Book does not mean that he or she can’t see photos of you running around with your new lover. More than likely one of your friends is still friends with your ex and may post photos of you that your ex can see. [FYI – this is how I found out my ex had left me for another chick. JERK. Her too…she was my friend. But that’s a story for another day.]
But back to the POKE, to me – it’s the equivalent of batting your eyes at someone, maybe nestling up close to them at a bar or bantering back and forth. After a time, you want more, you think you have a connection. One thing leads to another and you are full on touching/feeling/hands fluttering, thighs twitching…you get the idea. What can be innocent is leading to break ups and sometimes even being thrown into court as evidence against the offending party.
SO, if you are in a relationship or married, don’t POKE. Just don’t.
#consequences
Reader Comments (4)
Could not stop laughing at "thighs twitching"
I poked my friends' girlfriends' sister, and then sent her a message saying that I'd like to marry her so I can be a brother in law with my friend. The sister had a boyfriend and got pissed. Is it possible I was wrong here?
Did she get pissed or the bloke? I do not see anything wrong here as it would be assumed as a joke. Unless you gave her a reason to think otherwise mate?
Bahaah. I have long since begged my friends' siblings to marry me, if only so we could be in-laws, so naturally, I'm inclined to say it's not wrong. Maybe your friend's sister's boyfriend had trust issues? Or she had gotten in trouble for facebook lovin' before?