A similar proportion admit that they search online for evidence of their partner's infidelity, while nearly one in five say they have daily rows because of the way their husband or wife uses social media.

 

The research was commissioned by law firm Slater and Gordon in response to an increase in the number of its clients who said that Facebook, Skype, Snapchat, Twitter, What'sApp or other social media sites had played a part in their divorce.

 

Andrew Newbury, of Slater and Gordon, said: 'Five years ago Facebook was rarely mentioned in the context of a marriage ending, but now it has become commonplace.

 

'Social media is the new marriage minefield. Social media, specifically pictures and posts on Facebook, are now being routinely raised in divorces.' 

 

The survey by Censuswide among 2,011 husbands and wives, found the most common reasons for checking their spouse's social media accounts was to discover who they were talking to, who they were meeting and where they were going.

 

A quarter of the married people said the resulting suspicions led to rows at least once a week, and 17 per cent said such rows were daily events.

 

Arguments were provoked by contact with former partners, by the sending of secret messages, and by the posting of 'inappropriate' pictures.

 

Some 14 per cent said they looked at their spouse's social media with the specific intention of detecting evidence of adultery. 

 

A fifth said they felt uneasy about their relationship after discovering something on their partner's Facebook account and a third said they kept social media log-in details secret from partners.