Social Work

Social Work and Social Media 1
Social work over the last few decades has been a field which has been created to
provide support and development for individuals faced with difficult situations for all age
groups, ranging from children, adolescents and in the extreme cases adults as well. Such
situations include poor family life (in the literal and hypothetical sense, abusive spouses,
and also entire communities who lack the ability or are discouraged to improve their life
situation. !ne techni"ue utili#ed by social workers over the years has been the creation
of social groups, individuals who are facing similar challenges who came convene
together in order to develop and spurn a growth of confidence and sense of acceptance.
$he %1
st
century has seen the emergence of social media as an effective means of
communication from casual chatting to professional business networks. Websites such as
Skype, &acebook, 'nstagram, (inked'n, etc. are )ust a few of such sites. $hese sources of
social media carry the capability of providing a highly efficient platform for social work
to thrive.
Skype allows for face to face interaction without users having to leave the
comfort of their homes, which can be a challenge for a distraught individual who feels
comfortable strictly in the confines of their home. &acebook allows for networking and
effective communication which can be kept through secret groups. $his allows for social
workers and clients to keep their business private without sacrificing any clinical
efficiency. 'nstagram can be utili#ed as a tool for clients to post updates on themselves
so that social workers and other clients can keep eye on one another, a function which has
historically been more effective than &acebook. (astly (inked'n can be utili#ed as
business professional network for clients who have reached full recovery and are need of
Social Work and Social Media %
some form of employment. *ll four of these forms of social media and their potential to
act as tool for social work will be outlined in this essay.
&irst off, many individuals who are faced with challenges that seem
insurmountable tend to carry extremely high +victim syndrome,. 'ndividuals who carry
this syndrome are consistently going through life with a very negative attitude about
anything they come across. $hey may find the need to blame others for all their trials and
tribulations and also have the feeling that they are alone and have the worst luck. &or
these reasons an individual experiencing victim syndrome may not be suitable to convene
in an open environment with other individuals with victim syndrome. 't can ultimately
turn into a contest of +Who has the worst life-, $hey also may be so distraught at their
life situation that they may have no desire to share or open up to the group. $his is where
Social Media can step in and become an instrumental tool in providing the less fortunate
a platform where they essentially do not have to release their +dirty laundry, to a group
of people they don.t know. !ne of these tools is Skype.
Skype is a very efficient tool utili#ed by many individuals across the globe.
Someone in the /nited States can call someone in 0urope via their home desktop1laptop
and experience the face to face interaction at no cost. &or individuals who may feel
uncomfortable coming out of their shell and sharing their personal life with a large group
face to face, Skype can be engineered to be a key first step in a recovery1assistance
process. Social workers can have the ability to setup appointments via Skype, (almost
like a )ob interview, but not, and have an initial face to face with their client. $heir
client does not have to leave the confines of their home or comfort #one for that matter
while also experiencing human interaction.
Social Work and Social Media 2
*lso in regards to Skype as a tool for clinical work, social workers to be able to
truly feel and understand their client a face to face is almost necessary and essential. *
simple phone call would not suffice and allow the client to accurately express their
emotions. When engaging in dialogue on the phone it is very easy to misinterpret
someone.s stance or attitude based on the tone of their voice. Someone who may feel
tired or lethargic on particular day for example may sound depressed which can distort a
social worker.s conception on what their clients. needs and concerns are.
't has been well documented that social workers spend countless hours going from
client to client for appointments and this method can be utili#ed for social workers to
utili#e their time more efficiently. * simple phone call to the client can be made right
before the appointment is made to confirm their availability status and rest is cake. !nce
the client as made a connection with the social worker than face to face appointments can
be made once they feel comfortable stepping outside their comfort #one.
*nother affective social media tool is &acebook, which is currently the largest
tool available. &acebook can be used to connect with old friends, organi#e social events
as well as a means to vent. 't has been well documented that the ma)ority of &acebook
users take the option +What is on your mind-, option way too literally. /sers will post
their thoughts, emotions, current meals, political status etc. for the entire public to see and
comment on. &acebook can be utili#ed for any kind of sociali#ation, hence why it can be
created as another tool for social workers.
'ndividuals who are less fortunate also find the need to feel encouraged and
welcomed to be a part of something. *fter all, everyone needs something to take their
mind off of something at the end of the day. Social workers can coordinate with their
Social Work and Social Media 3
clients and have secret groups which are not open to the public. Within the secret groups
coordinates can create event invitations to group meetings and also one to one meetings
as well, whether they be face to face or on some other social media platform. *t social
events coordinates should be sure to take photos and only post within the secret group so
that outside users are not aware of their client.s confidential treatment. 4lients can be
tagged in photos of them having fun which may not seem much, but any )oy or smile to a
distraught person can mean the world.
Social media users share among themselves day in and day out, giving and
receiving information at rapid speeds. $his information is more than funny cat videos5
they share views and opinions5 tips, tricks, and even 6'7 pro)ects5 and, among students,
helpful information for classes. $heir ability to assess, analy#e, retain and share
information is skyrocketing and they often don.t even reali#e they.re developing these
skills. !nly people born before the 'nternet was invented are likely to understand the
magnitude of this new style of communication. (8iet#mann, 9ermkens, Mc4arthy, :
Silvestre %;11 'n my perspective, social media can prevent the isolation of working
alone. 'f ' have a problem ' tweet and ' always get an answer if ' have something to
celebrate when ' have online friends to encourage me. $his <support network<, it is
possible for me to be more positive, more adventurous and open my mind to new
possibilities, all the benefits of my business immeasurably.
$here was a story posted on &acebook not too long ago about a man who watched
his best friend make a speech at graduation as the valedictorian of the class. 9is friend
mentioned about a time in =
th
grade when he was bullied beyond his tolerance level so he
in turn decided to commit suicide. !ne &riday afternoon he cleaned his locker of all his
Social Work and Social Media >
books because he didn.t want to burden his mother once he had killed himself. *s usual
the kids on the bus bullied him once they got off at the normal stop, they threw him into
the ground and knocked his glasses off. *t this point the narrator states that although
they were not friends at the time he decided to help his future friend by retrieving all the
books on the floor, the glasses, and even offered to walk him home. 6uring the speech
his friend concludes that had he not been saved and given a sense of hope, he would have
most likely went along with the plan of suicide. Moral of the story, any smile on
someone.s face can be lifesaving, literally.
!n top of &acebook.s capability as a platform for creating new relationships, it
can also be used to maintain contact with individuals one has created a relationship with.
!nce a client has been able to get back on their feet they now have the option of
maintaining contact with their social worker and any new friends they have made. $his
would be beneficial to both parties as the social workers will also have the sense of
gratitude that they were able to make a positive contribution to society.
'nstagram is form of social media which can fuel and interesting but yet also
affective trend in social work. ?ased upon its limited function as compared to &acebook
it would be most efficient in post@treatment. Aecently there has a been a trend of users
who have posted their weight loss transformations at a stage by stage progress. $he
purpose of the stage by stage postings is for the users to receive encouragement from
other users to continue to their path of weight loss. $his concept can be applied to social
work as clients can post their transformations on a +before, and +after, basis. !nce they
have received their treatment they can now have the confidence to post their success and
transformation into a new individual while receiving plenty of support along the way.
Social Work and Social Media B
&or example a struggling adult who is now back on their feet can post a photo of them
going to a )ob interview. $hey can receive compliments and praise from their social
worker and other members of 'nstagram to help push them through. *s silly as it may
sound, depressed and mentally distraught individuals can have an immediate positive
swing in their attitude from any pat on the back.
(ast but not least is the use of (inked'n, the largest professional network
database, as an apparatus for social workers. Many individuals who are need of
assistance can usually associated with little to no employment opportunities. $here is a
popular saying in our culture that states, +'t.s not what you know but who you know.,
0veryone has heard a story in their life which can support that clause. !nce the clients
have been able to re@establish themselves into the work force a relationship between
social worker and client can be created to locate employment opportunities based on a
client.s skill set. *nd once clients have entered the work force and made a name for
themselves they will have the ability to create their own business professional networks
amongst themselves. $hey will have the ability congratulate each other on their business
success, which provides that self@reassurance on a business level. (inked'n has also
proven to provide a strict business environment so for those who don.t want to be
distracted. $agging, videos, photos, etc. that one would normally see on other sites will
not be prevalent here and therefore will be more suitable for who is )ust strictly wants to
keep personal matters out of the e"uations.
!verall one can not dispute the challenges in social work, being able to provide
comfort and assistance to those who are at rock bottom. 9owever as previously
mentioned the use of social media as a means to create community, services and
Social Work and Social Media C
assistance would be a low to no cost method of affective communication between all
parties. Many issues arise in the lack of funding and governmental interest in providing
assistance to social work programs, an issue which does not arise in social media. &rom
initial treatment to complete restoration, social media can be utili#ed as a tool for all age
groups and backgrounds, as it already a world@wide phenomenon today. *ll ages groups
from teenagers to middle age adults have statistically have had a high participation in
social media and that number will only continue to grow. $he %1
st
century will defined
by electronics dominating communication so it would only make sense for social work to
)oin and assimilate to the model.

Social Work and Social Media =
AeferencesD

• 8iet#mann, E. 9., 9ermkens, 8., Mc4arthy, '. F., : Silvestre, ?. S. (%;11. Social
media- Get seriousH /nderstanding the functional building blocks of social media.
Business horizons, 54(2, %31@%>1.