Social Work in a Digital Age: Personal & Professional Considerations

Why social work students need to be careful about online identities

The social work profession faces a new challenge – that of digital inclusion. Students should be aware of this when online

Sue Watling and Jim Rogers (2012), The Guardian. 

Excerpts:

Many more experience problems with inaccessible website design. Social work, with its focus on empowerment and inclusion, is used to dealing with barriers to participation but embedding digital literacy has never been more crucial.

While at university the internet enables a range of electronic learning resources, including virtual campuses, e-books, journals, blogging tools, forums and e-portfolios as well as access to external content such as the Social Care Institute for Excellence website. Regular engagement with digital resources such as these will benefit graduates.

When on placement, students need to clearly understand the rules and ethics in relation to the use of social media and electronic devices, and to understand how professional codes of conduct, placement learning agreements, and agency policies provide guidance on these issues.

There will be a wide range of hardware and software used by different agencies, for example palmtop computers have helped a number of social work teams to significantly reduce paperwork time by allowing direct entry of information while on visits to service users. Mobile technology is increasingly popular for example the Patchwork app allows practitioners and individuals working with a family to share relevant information using a secure social media type platform.

The social worker's digital case load is likely to be a challenging one. Some cases may involve the potential challenges of digital exclusion while others be concerned with the ethics of contacting service users who prefer digital media for communication. A digitally literate social worker will need to be adept at adjusting tone and getting the balance right for a range of different digital situations.

This doesn't always come naturally. Social work students often arrive at university in possession of a range of digital technologies and behaviours without ever having to consider them within the boundaries of professional practice. Appropriate email addresses and a sound knowledge of the demarcation between personal and professional online identities are just the starting point.

The use of social media is something many people take for granted with family and friends but what is considered quirky or funny within private space can seem very different once leaked into the public domain. Recognition of the permanence of digital footprints is critical for staying both safe and legal online, where behaving badly can have disastrous professional consequences.

Social work students are likely to find themselves both sides of the digital divide but research at the University of Lincoln suggests low awareness of the full implications of digital exclusion for service users.

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