Abstract
This article draws from a 15-month participant observation study of social work and child protection practices in England to illustrate how social workers used Facebook to gain another view of service-users’ lives. Social media use was not an intended focus for the study, its presence emerged during our data analysis. While some research has shown that such practices occur, our long-term ethnographic approach provides new insights into how Facebook was actually used in ongoing casework with families and why it was used. Our findings show that Facebook use took multiple forms. Some social workers actively searched service users’ Facebook pages and some opposed any such usage. We further advance the literature by introducing a third group who were unwillingly “drawn into” acting on Facebook information presented to them by others such as their managers. Our research insights suggest that social work must pause to consider the implications of these complex emerging practices.
Highlights
Social media has redefined how we are able to keep in touch with, locate and relate to individuals and communities globally
There has been a growth in literature concerned that social workers are viewing service users’ Facebook accounts to gain another view of their lives, CONTACT Tarsem Singh Cooner t.s.cooner@bham.ac.uk Department of Social Work and Social Care, University of Birmingham, Room 841 Muirhead Tower, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. ß 2019 The Author(s)
Whether or not there was broad policy or specific legal guidance available on the use of social media, individual social workers tended to weigh up the potential harms and potential benefits in most instances engaging in active dialog of the ethics of their approach with themselves, with supervisors and peers
Summary
Social media has redefined how we are able to keep in touch with, locate and relate to individuals and communities globally. Social networking sites have provided increasingly simple methods for people to share and access rich information about each other’s lives using mobile devices untethered by restrictions of time and place. This social media practice of publishing aspects of daily life to a wide community is often referred to as a “collapsing of borders” (Marwick, 2012; Marwick & Boyd, 2011; Trottier, 2011).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
