The Independent has recently run a story on the dangers of posting personal information on Facebook and other social networking sites. The main thrust of the item is that insurance companies and employers are regularly trawling sites for evidence of employee misbehaviour or using pages as evidence in court.
But the surprising thing for us was the story of a man who breached an order not to contact his estranged wife. I assume he was doing his bit but then he signed up for Facebook and an email was automatically sent to his friends - including his ex-wife. Apparently he got 10 days in jail for it.
"Social networking has much more scope for trouble because of the public element. It's got the potential to be more explosive. It's just like airing your dirty laundry. We've had divorces that have been due to Friends Reunited in the past and that will be replaced by Facebook with the next generation. Now most people who would never have written a love letter to someone are writing it all down and sending it because they somehow think it's different."