We recently published our official recommendations on how to handle social media as it relates to adoption as a birth parent or adoptive parent http://adoptionstar.com/child-placement/adoption-and-social-media-recommendations-for-healthy-ongoing-communication/. Here is an article on using Facebook to find family members. In this article the author writes about her experiences helping her father find his biological brother who was adopted.
His brother was adopted in Ohio, which seals all of its adoption records. Because her father had a letter with his brother’s name on it, she had a head start and by using Facebook, gsadoptionregistry.com and other people-finder websites, the author was able to track down her father’s brother’s daughter (her first cousin) on Facebook. After sending a few Facebook messages, and with the help of a mutual friend, they contacted each other and were able to set up a meeting between the brothers.
It is a very interesting story to read, and I am sure we will be hearing more and more about adult adoptees using Facebook and other social media accounts to find birth family members. What are your thoughts on using Social Media for birth family searches?