The term “social media” often has a negative overtone. Teens, in particular, are perceived as being always on their smartphones and attached to social media.
Social media, as with most other issues, does have its negative aspects, but also serves positive purposes as well. For example, it is enabling many adopted people to find biological family members.
For example, David Jones, 33, recently posted a picture of himself on Facebook hoping that it will help him connect with his biological sister. Jones was born in Pinellas County, Florida and, through his connection with his biological father, learned he has a biological sister who was also born in the same city. However, he doesn’t think she knows he even exists, according to a local news article. David stated, “I very much doubt she knows I exist and because of the lack of evidence, it’s quite likely that she doesn’t know she’s adopted.”
According to a local Fox article, David was born as “Baby Boy Dowding” and was adopted as an infant. His search for his birth family began when David’s son was born and the hospital asked him about family history. David had very little information when he started searching, but was able to locate his biological father and biological grandmother. His biological father told him about his biological sister, which triggered his search for her. David was able to find his biological mother, but she was not willing to communicate with him.
The use of social media to find lost relatives continues to increase at a fast pace. Because social media use has increased at an exponential rate over the last few years, any message can reach thousands of people almost instantly. David stated, “We have searched for years and tried everything we can think of to find her.” He has searched for his biological sister for over five years and hopes this message will reach her so they can connect.
So far, his post on Facebook has been shared over 78,000 times. Please share David’s message and help him find his biological sister.
