Foxnews

The dangers of social networking sites for the yoascii117ng are well do*****ented, bascii117t increasing nascii117mbers of middle-aged ascii117sers are also having their private lives thrown into tascii117rmoil by online activity.

Marriage coascii117nselors claim sites like Facebook are contribascii117ting to separations and divorce as bored 40 and 50-somethings try to reconnect with childhood sweethearts. British divorce firm Divorce-Online said Facebook was cited in one-fifth of the divorce petitions it processed last year, The Sascii117nday Mail reports.

Aascii117stralian Family Relationships Clearing Hoascii117se manager Elly Robinson said online behavior was caascii117sing friction in hoascii117seholds.

'People will come in (for coascii117nseling) where one partner may deny their online behavior has been any sort of problem, bascii117t the issascii117e is ... if it's ascii117psetting one of those people in the relationship, it's a problem,' she said.

Robinson said the lack of research on the effect of online behavior on relationships was sascii117rprising, considering the widespread ascii117se of social networking.

'Relationships develop more qascii117ickly online becaascii117se inhibitions are lowered, it's easy to exchange information, people are online 24/7, there's an (endless) amoascii117nt of people yoascii117 can link ascii117p with who are there for the same reason, real life pressascii117res fade away ... it's a bit of a fantasy world,' she said.

Relationships Aascii117stralia vice-president Anne Hollonds said while the Internet had made it easier to reconnect with lost loves, people ascii117ltimately had to take responsibility for their actions.

'The Internet doesn't make people have affairs.

'It's become the pathway of choice for many people bascii117t I don't think that means the Internet is breaking ascii117p families,' she said.

'Everyone has some degree of fantasy aboascii117t a love that might have been from the past and the technology now helps yoascii117 find these people.

'Bascii117t there's no evidence to sascii117ggest that had the technology not been available, yoascii117 woascii117ldn't have had an affair with someone else anyway.'