The use and misuse of 'everyday' communication technologies in a family law setting: an exploratory study of post-separation experiences

Family law services assisting clients with post-separation parenting arrangements can play a key role in encouraging collaborative communication between separating parents. Increasingly, this communication takes place by digital means. Services and practitioners need to understand which communication technologies (CTs) are used by their clientele, how they are experienced in both positive and negative ways, and why some technologies might be favoured over others as a result. This paper reports on an exploratory mixed methods study of the use and misuse of 'everyday' CTs (text/instant messaging, email and social media) among parents accessing post-separation services in Victoria, Australia. A survey of 118 clients was followed by interviews with 12 participants. Post-separation clients readily differentiated between common CTs in terms of the extent to which they were helpful or unhelpful for co-parenting. Most participants had recent experience of some form of CT misuse by their ex-partners. An improved understanding of client experiences will help post-separation services incorporate explicit discussion of CT use in the negotiation of parenting arrangements.