Can Facebook Help Children Of Divorce?

Perhaps the headline of The New York Times article “Virtual Visitation Rights” answers that question by suggesting that perhaps noncustodial parents might benefit most from maintaining relationships via Facebook.

Facebook can add some much needed informality to a dynamic that is otherwise always based on scheduling appointments and visitation activities. Like Dr. Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins, told the Times:

Before this electronic media, noncustodial parents had very formalized, appointment-driven communication with their kids… Electronic media may help noncustodial parents by informalizing the process of communicating with their children.