The Internet Has Transformed Modern Divorce 277
stern writes "The internet may be contributing to divorces (thanks, Facebook!) but it's also reducing the pain, especially the bitter fighting associated with joint custody. Calendars are now much easier to coordinate, and if one parent denies a court-ordered phone call to another, there's no way to hide the fact that the call didn't happen. Because of these and other technologies, divorce has changed radically in the last ten years. From the article: 'When [one divorcee] requested court-mandated parent counseling, the judge ordered the two to use an online tool called Our Family Wizard instead. Now, lawyers supervise e-mail exchanges between her and her ex, ensuring that each party responds to the other in a timely manner. All e-mails are time dated and tracked. Parents can create a shared expense log and receive automated notices and reminders about parental obligations.'"
Re:increasing divorce or honesty? (Score:3, Informative)
But you have to take marriage rates into account, too. From the census site you linked (I only used the last source, 'cause I'm lazy):
1990: 9.8
2000: 8.3
2009: 6.8
And then, to get a more meaningful number - divorces per marriage - you just divide:
1990: 4.7 / 9.8 = 0.4796
2000: 4.1 / 8.3 = 0.4940
2009: 3.4 / 6.8 = 0.5000
And while that's hardly a strong trend, it is very much in the opposite direction of what you're claiming.