Social Media, Social Networking, and Social Work
Critics say that the internet, social media, and social networking have damaged the genetic makeup of society, that technology has reduced face-to-face interaction, spawning greater social displacement and isolation.
The same was said of radio, telephones, and television. And while there’s no denying there’s some truth to it, the genie is out of the tech bottle. We’re challenged to consider maximizing the benefits of it while attempting to mitigate or avoid its potential dangers.
So, here’s the upside – Social media has the ability to make life easier for those in need (your clients, our community), as well as making your own professional life more fruitful.
Social media and the Internet have greatly increased the number of possible connections to people, locally and all over the world. Likewise, access to and sharing information is faster and easier.
Social workers, and nonprofits engaging in building healthy communities, share a wide range of online learning and support communities. These sites bolster knowledge and encourage shared communities of practice, building proficiency while reducing the sense of isolation.
Shared software, like the Activate Care program Curandi uses, allows efficiencies that reduce gaps in care and improve client outcomes.
In addition to its potential to improve the way we work with clients (best practices), organizations also share guidance on understanding and managing the risks of social media. Without knowledge of social media, we are less able to advise others how to protect those they champion, who are often more vulnerable to risk.
On the flipside, social media has brought about serious pitfalls like fake news and cyberbullying, whose effects can be fatal. Here are some other concerns:
Nonprofits are often stretched to provide their primary function; social media seems too unruly and risky, so staff approaches social media cautiously, if at all.
Organizations are often risk averse, and thus see social networking only for its risks, and not its significant benefits (provided that guidelines and risk management are well understood and practiced).
Client confidentiality is paramount, so the thought of risking that sensitive information online prevents some from even investigating the use of social media for the organization.
The boundary between professional use of social media and personal use is often ill defined, and risk increases where that confusion exists.
One of the intriguing things about social media is that it behaves more like nature does, responding and adapting quickly to newly emerging “things” as they happen, rather than being orchestrated and formulaic.
While organizations frequently stick to an older hierarchical, predictable model, social media coalesces quickly around common agreements and purpose - a coalition of far-flung rescue-oriented nonprofits coming together quickly after a natural disaster, for example.
Hoping to break out of the mold of past organizational structures, which struggle to attain population-significant gains, social media may have something to teach us.