One of the major reasons marriages fail is that the parties are unable to communicate. After the parties divorce, their ability to communicate generally does not improve, though, for divorcees who have children, continued communication is a necessity.
As any divorced parent knows, on a weekly basis, parents have to be able to coordinate drop- off and pick-up times resulting from sudden changes in work schedules, traffic or the children’s extra-curricular activities; they also have to be able to communicate regarding the children’s education and health.
Pamela Paul in her article Kramer.com v. Kramer.com, illustrates how, technology has enabled parties to communicate without every exchange resulting in a verbal altercation.
Email and texting virtually takes away the need to parents to discuss drop off and pick up times. If one parent is caught in traffic, a simple text stating: “Stuck in traffic. I will be 20 minutes late,” prevents the tongue lashing from the parent, who is waiting with a child curbside.
Online calendars memorialize important events like soccer games, school concerts, recitals and vacations. As Ms. Paul, in her New York Times, article relates:
For Cheryl Wu, a 34-year-old Manhattan pediatrician, nailing down details on a Google calendar makes all the difference. First, she and her ex-husband, who have joint legal custody (she has primary physical custody) of their 5-year-old son, will e-mail each other possible arrangements until they reach a point of agreement. Once there, it goes into the mutual calendar. Since the two separated in 2010, they have only had to talk face-to-face two or three times.
Another advantage of the electronic exchanges is that should keep communications civil. Since the communications leave an evidentiary footprint, the messages can be used as evidence in court, it is unlikely the communication will be laced with expletives as they could be in face to face or telephonic encounters.
