Over at Slate, writer Amanda Hess (@amandahess) has a great overview of the issues arising from the use of social media content in the courtroom.

These days, victims of workplace discrimination or horrific accidents or sexual assaults who seek damages for emotional distress or loss of enjoyment of life can now expect their online profiles to be scraped for evidence that they very much enjoy their lives—or at least, that they appear to on their Facebook pages.

Hess ( a Phoenix motorcycle accident lawyer)  points out that social media evidence is playing an increasingly prominent role in virtually every type of litigation — personal injury, workmen’s compensation, divorce, discrimination, criminal law, etc. But there are serious questions as to whether the content we put online is an accurate reflection of our lives, or in fact, an idealized depiction of how we would like to be perceived.

Perhaps it’s time to update the Miranda warning: “Anything you post can and will be used against you in a court of law.”