Adoptive Family magazine published a 3rd party study (think it might have been October?) which is supposed to run another 6 years (I believe--I am going from memory) and it said that 98% of natural parents were satisfied with the openness of their adoption in the first year and I believe the stat they had was down to 67% by the 3rd year. One of the comments they made is that through the aid of technology and social sites and the internet like facebook, myspace, streaming video etc the availability of information and communication had drastically improved open adoption communication. I will try to read more because they had some interesting points about how adoption had changed so much in the last 10 years and the reasons why (technology seemed to be a theme) the author thought so...will try to find a link. Great post--Search and unification was def one of those I was thinking of...I've heard several successful searches off of Classmates.com and others. I believe there has been huge benefits overall with the things technology has added to educating and information for everyone. The positives for search and reunions as well as communication in Open adoptions has been a fantastic advancement.
Our children are 2 of a total of 5 siblings who were placed via foster care... The Internet has made it possible for the three families with all of the siblings to stay connected, share pictures and discuss and plan contact situations with all five children. For me that has been a huge plus as well as for the parents of the next 2 younger children. With all of the special needs or little things we worry about it's been a good thing to be able to bounce things off of each other.
Technology has also made it simple to send photo's and letters to the Legal Liaison for their mother to pick up without any of us disclosing our locations. With the issue that these children were removed there are and continues to be a risk for the children. So this allows us to be sensitive to her and her recovery as well as keep the children in a bit of a bubble until we feel contact may be beneficial for everyone.
It also helps us understand how mom is doing as we really are praying that she is able to make her life better by the time the children do reach adulthood. We don't get much info but have been able to understand when she has been pregnant or if she has entered treatment so we can --process-- and weigh out the situation without it knocking us over out of the blue.
On the COMPLETE down side for those families who do have children with extraordinary special needs technology has NOT always been a positive. While we do benefit from the quick access to information about the specific issues some of our children face--we have also encountered some rather odd and often scary things.
The fact some of our children have huge special needs and often come with medicaid benefits families (like ours) often run out of traditional treatments and support options. The Internet has left some of us as complete targets for unethical scammers who would bilk us out of our child's benefits and every penny we have for "The ONLY Treatments that will Heal" a child with say, Reactive Attachment Disorder.
I can prove and have to authorities that there are Front websites that lead desperate parents into back-doors where what I can only describe are Cult-Like attitudes and some rather frightening things going on with the children who do have the most extraordinary needs. It was this discovery and that fact that a few other parents faced the same attack of these vultures with twisted ideas that lead to my creating the websites I have (and am currently completely rebuilding in order to protect better the kinds of things that should not be part of the Internet.)
so.... yes, Technology in some cases has really made huge changes. There is however one website I know of that I consider the Most Repulsive and unfortunately it is the most popular but, they ban everyone so really who cares? I think technology makes it easier for PAPs to find children to snatch. Aside from that, I think for open adoptions it helps them keep in touch, but then one of them breaks it off and goes their own way. The truth has been said. Well it's certainly helped those searching to find each other. OPs have already pointed out the pros and cons.
The imbalance in power is a big issue, where the adoption industry can use technology to find poor people in far-off places, and scam them.Unethical, outright criminal people have stolen children from other countries(and from their own).
Language barriers make it easier to trick people and easier to steal their children.
DNA testing can prove crime, at least later on. At least, DNA tests now can help verify that someone who claimed to be a certain child's mother was lying or that someone who claimed a child really was telling the truth.
Guilt..or innocence. DNA testing has helped to identify parents and child who belong together...and it has revealed kidnappings. Pro's:
1. Aided in availability of information and streamlined filing and record-keeping - less lost or damaged records.
2. Opened the way for everyone involved to be more informed.
3. Made reunions (where appropriate) a tangible reality for more people.
Con's:
1. Nothing is truly private any more. People can be easily tracked if you know just a basic first/last name. Unstable people on either side (birth parents and AP's) can use this and use it to do a lot of damage.
2. The internet is a haven for criminals and unethical business. We've all seen the despicable agency websites advertising things like, "Healthy caucasian boy, due 2/10/08, no medical anomalies, no maternal drug history, $29,000."
3. On that same note, PAP's can often get taken advantage of by women (or even men) pretending to be pregnant and looking for a family, who then milk the PAP's for everything they can and disappear.
4. People who may NOT want to be contacted, including the adoptee, now have their information and methods of contact easily accessible. The only reason I was able to meet my mother is because of the internet.
I found her online and she flew in to see me the very next day.
THAT is the power of technology.
I mean really, if you had told me three years ago that my half sister would be a Facebook friend, I wouldn't have believed it, Especially since I didn't even know I had a sister back then but she is and it is so great.
IMO the internet is the best thing ever for adoptees and first parents looking to reunite. We don't need anyone's permission to do so. It's great.
Also because of the internet, we all get to share our stories through blogs and websites.
Through the power of the internet, the paradigms of adoption practice will shift. it may take awhile but it really is happening already. Dear LG,
Aside from making search and reunion more possible and providing generalized adoption information to the public and in some cases making on going contact more possible other benefits of technology I have noticed are:
1. Easier access to information about adoptions pitfalls instead of just its praises which is helpful for both expectant parents considering relinquishment and prospective adoptive parents. Hopefully this has and will help to prevent unnecessary separations and unethical adoptions.
2. More readily available access for support for relinquishing parents where previously almost NONE was available. For the first time, there is a way for these people to connect instead of being shoved into the corner and covered up by shame.
3. It makes it easier to expose adoption corruption, crime and other unethical activities. It makes it easier to figure out the mysteries and lies of the past on both a personal level and a societal one as well.
4. The ability to communicate with a world audience makes it possible to compare and contrast adoption practices, family structure, human rights issues and other relevant topics in order to seek the best ideas and systems for reforming adoption and making it better.
5. Technology has made it easier to collect statistics, personal stories, do studies, take surveys etc. about adoption so that we can get a more accurate picture of adoption in the future.
As far as cons go, I can only think of two. As Temperance pointed out, it makes it easier for people to troll for children expectant mothers and for scams and fraud to happen. Also, just as it makes the correct information more readily available, it also makes it easier to spread MISinformation. The internet gives people who are marginalized by our culture a means to collect critical mass and have a voice. There are some pros there:
1) Myths and lies about adoption can be challenged and exposed for what they are so unnecessary adoptions can be prevented.
2) People can be educated about how coercion is used to get mothers to surrender their babies. Women can be warned about techniques like isolation from support system, pre-birth matching, and drugging after birth.
3) People who have been hurt by adoption can connect with others and gain solace by sharing experiences.
4) Families torn apart by adoption can reunite.
Unfortunately, the internet also is an opportunity for massive advertising campaigns by unethical adoption agencies and IT makes it easier for adoption scams (both by adoptive families and fake "birth" mothers). |
