The Internet, Pop Culture & Adoption; Pt. 2 by Alicia Lanier
Reprinted from March-April, 1996, Issue of Adoption Triad Forum
The Internet, Pop Culture & Adoption; Pt. 2 by Alicia Lanier
Reprinted from March-April, 1996, Issue of Adoption Triad Forum
and iguanas, llamas and other exotic animals roaming the manicured grounds and waterways. It's a legacy, we learn, of stay-at-home dad Noah's best-selling novel.
Film and Consumer Magazines
The practical and emotional issues of adoption have also been dealt with recently by three big-screen films. Losing Isaiah, the story of an African-American infant who was abandoned by his drug-addicted biological mother and adopted by a white family, candidly explores whether adoptees should be reared within their biological cultures. Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite comically scrutinizes the questions of nurture versus nature. (Did you notice that Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her title role performance?) And, Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club reveals that biological disconnects unquestionably will impact a family for generations to come.
On an entirely different tack, Consumer Reports which many informed consumers consult when considering a big purchase offers advice on "If You Are Thinking of Adopting" (February, 1996). Predictably, this article emphasizes the process of adoption there's no mention of post-adoption consequences and its mercenary tone is chilling: Can the family bear the expense? Costs vary widely. Adopting a child from your state's foster-care program, or adopting a special-needs child, can cost very little. By contrast, adopting a healthy infant in the U.S. or adopting a child from another country can cost $15,000 to $20,000. It concludes with resources, including Internet sites Cyberspace & Post-Adoption. The Internet, I believe, is the medium most profoundly changing the landscape of contemporary adoption. It is affecting would-be adopters, searchers and all others touched by adoption because its interactivity connects and affects like no other medium can.
Adoption is everywhere in the mainstream media, TV, books, newspapers, movies, video, radio, magazines. These media reflect and reinforce social viewpoints as they entertain, inform, educate and socialize us. But, only being connected on-line offers instantaneous peer interaction and thus powerful potential for community- and consensus-building.
To examine this power, consider an adult adoptee, who has denied a need for knowing biological roots and may never individually take a step toward search. This adoptee may see stories on TV or in newspapers about others who searched or reunited, but still wonder about the personal "rightness"of such a choice. But on-line, this same adoptee can meet and interact with via search bulletin boards, home pages, the Internet Adoptees List, or private e-mail other adoptees who've searched and found that "missing puzzle piece."Such interaction pro-vides far more compelling support than passively watching a TV reunion show or reading about reunions in print media.
On-line users, programs and sites also inform and educate others who might not otherwise be reached.In addition, many pioneering, influential thinkers in the adoption field are on-line and accessible for dialogue. One of these is Annette Baran, co-author of the ground-breaking The Adoption Triangle, who frequently co-hosts adoption chats on America Online. Other reform leaders, too, serve as beacons for adoption change. Each enlightened person on-line influences others...who influence others.
Because many birthmothers are now on-line, any pregnant woman considering relinquishment of her baby and wondering how that might feel years from now can easily find out. Her choice is a more informed one after hearing experiences from birthmothers in closed or open adoptions.
Future Adoptive Families. Prospective adoptive parents, too, can obtain via the Internet personal views about adoption from birthparents or others in adoption that once were unavailable or perhaps filtered out by adoption practitioners.
Persons ready to adopt also can review photo listings of adoptable children. In 1995, the Texas Dept. of Protective and Regulatory Services and Texas Adoption Resource Exchange began a site with photos of foster children for adoption. The very first photo listing, Precious in His Sight, was created in 1994 by Annette Thompson of Waco and shows kids for international adoption. Texas also has an adoption reform-education site, designed by Cyndi Smith, of the Texas Coalition for Adoption Reform and Education.
Along with being interactive, on-line adoption activity is appealing because it is instantaneous ...24 hours a day...in the privacy and convenience of home. Just log on and click away until the right site or chat area appears. There's no waiting for a next issue, a next TV program, or a next book. It's instant gratification and adoption reality, virtual style. More importantly, it assuages momentarily an individual longing for connection and community. Since 1994 when Adoption Triad Forum last focused on how adoption is being affected by on-line activity, it's evident that the growth and impact on adoption have been enormous. If you're not yet "wired, it's time to sign up and sign on - the digital revolution is now.
Last updated January 14, 1997