Have you noticed that there’s a surge of influencers whose audiences are primarily adult children who are estranged from their parents? Joeita Gupta made this observation of her own social media algorithm, and she went exploring. Joeita speaks with an estranged adult child, and experts from this field of study, to figure out if parental estrangement is trendy, or if there’s societal developments that make this a more common occurrence. Joeita speaks to Andrea, who has been estranged from her mother for many years. Andrea shares the reason she cut off her mother, and the years of abuse that caused their relationship to be so strained. Joshua Coleman, psychologist, author, and Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families, was no contact with his own daughter for a brief period. He joins Joeita to tell us why there seems to be a rise in familial estrangement, and how parents can go about making amends. Rin Reczek, Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University, shares research about familial estrangement and how disability, sex, and gender can affect levels of estrangement among parents and their adult children. So, are those influencers just capitalizing on a trendy topic? Or is society really changing to openly talk about finding healthier, more supportive, and happier relationships with your chosen family? Let’s listen to these expert opinions to find out.