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“It just crept in”: The Digital Age and Implications for Social Work Practice

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Abstract

Today’s generation of youth and adults relies on communication technologies for entertainment, information, and social connections and more and more, for personal help and advice. With cyber technology having permeated the ways in which individuals seek support for a wide range of issues, the purpose of this paper is to report on a study that examined practitioners’ experiences and views of whether and how online communication has entered their face-to-face practice and of the implication for the therapeutic work. Using qualitative methodology, 15 social work practitioners participated in focus groups and interviews exploring their perspectives about the impact of cyber technology on their traditional face-to-face social work practice. The prevailing finding was that cyber communication has dramatically changed the nature of professional relationships. This key finding was supported by four major inter-related themes arising from the data: (1) client driven practice; (2) Pandora’s box; (3) ethical grey zone; and (4) permeable boundaries. Implications for practice are provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, 246 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V4, Canada

    Faye Mishna, Marion Bogo, Jennifer Root & Jami-Leigh Sawyer

  2. Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, 91905, Jerusalem, Israel

    Mona Khoury-Kassabri

Authors
  1. Faye Mishna
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  2. Marion Bogo
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  3. Jennifer Root
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  4. Jami-Leigh Sawyer
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  5. Mona Khoury-Kassabri
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Correspondence to Faye Mishna.

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Mishna, F., Bogo, M., Root, J. et al. “It just crept in”: The Digital Age and Implications for Social Work Practice. Clin Soc Work J 40, 277–286 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-012-0383-4

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