While much attention overseas has been focused on the ups and downs (mostly downs) of Facebook's recent initial public offering, the Japanese media have been subjecting online gaming and social networks to increasingly critical scrutiny. The issues raised range from complaints over lax privacy safeguards and exploitation of minors by predatory businesses to reputed ties to organized crime.
"I don't wanna become a Facebook fool," rants Michiyuki Shimizu in Sapio (June 27). The freelance writer cites Facebook's growing reputation as a home wrecker. It seems a survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers found that 81 percent of attorneys questioned replied that in divorce cases they had handled over the past decade, text messages sent via social-media sites were submitted as a source of evidence, with the trend accelerating over the past five years. (In another survey in the U.K., a review of divorce claims showed that in 5,000 cases, references to Facebook appeared in 33 percent.)
When such a trend becomes conspicuous in other countries, Japan is seldom far behind. Shimizu cites the unhappy tale of a 40-year-old Osaka doctor who was moved to engage an investigative agency when he noticed his spouse appeared suspiciously enthusiastic over Facebook. A computer-savvy private eye managed to hack into her account (her password was her own birthday) and found amorous exchanges between the wife and a female physician. One read, "Let's both dump our hubbies so we can be together." Further probing determined the two women were also engaging in clandestine romantic trysts. Data captured off the screens were submitted as evidence in the divorce suit.