What kind of social work in what kind of virtual space?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social work with children and youth in vulnerable positions has traditionally been associated with face-to-face meetings and a reflective, trustworthy social worker. Digital efforts to make social work more efficient have changed the ways in which social work is conducted, and face-to-face work is now increasingly mediated by a screen or other digital communication devices. This article conceptualises social work as situated in relational and dynamic spaces, and uses Rosa’s concept of acceleration in society, combined with an ethical-body perspective, to offer insight into how social work takes place in digital spaces. We understand ‘technology’ as grounded in Science and Technology Studies (STS) in which technology itself has agency, and technology use is understood as a complex dynamic involving functionality, use and competences as well as the social situations in which technology is incorporated. Empirically, the article draws on examples from the research project ‘The digitally competent social worker’, in which fieldwork was conducted in twelve Danish municipalities. The article concludes that although positive outcomes occur when social workers use digital communication devices, the continuous development of digital technology requires them to be continuously trained in how to work professionally with digital devices, so that they can identify and reflect on the deficits of the various technologies deployed. Further, the accelerating speed of social work promised by digital technologies risks squeezing out ‘reflection’ in favour of an automated, non-critical reflex due to reduced case complexity and curtailed spaces for legal discretion, both of which are exacerbated by digital devices.