Shaping E-professional identities: Towards an understanding of the impact of social media experiences on the professional development of social work students

Abstract

The paper draws on a small research project involving first year undergraduate social work students at University, focusing on `how students understand the use of social media and social networking sites (or SNS) within the context of a professional identity`. The literature identifies the significant focus on ethics, highlighting professional boundaries and the challenges of maintaining appropriate conduct in online situations. However, recent SNS research in the UK has begun to promote the benefits of SNS both in academic study and in direct practice. The main findings of this study highlight the significant use of social media across participants' personal, social-role and professional domains, and the importance of ethical and values-based judgements that individuals were developing in advance of undertaking social work training. Nevertheless, other attitudes expressed by participants suggest the complexity of ethical, social-role situations and professional expectations generated by social media use were neither fully recognised nor understood. For educators, the paper proposes a more nuanced understanding of students' roles is warranted, along with on-going support in the use of social media and professional identity.