Charity warns against using Facebook to trace birth parents
People seeking their natural parents are being urged to bypass Facebook for more official channels after the British Association of Adoption & Fostering revealed figures which show a rise in the numbers using social networking sites to seek reunions.
Published figures show that people, frustrated with the slow pace of official channels, are taking matters into their own hands with 29% of those polled admitting to using public records to track down their parents.
A further 14% said they used databases such as 192.com to trace their families whilst 13% resorted to websites such as Facebook and Genes Reunited.
Experts warn that these unconventional approaches are leaving people unprepared for emotional dilemmas such contact can expose.
Some people can be rejected by their birth parents and others may be angered to discover their parents happily married with more children.