When 'delete' is better than 'send': the ethics of e-professionalism Gloria Kirwan Trinity College Dublin March 2017
Social Media Online Forms of Social Communication
Digital and Other Electronic Technology the use of computers (including the Internet, social media, online chat, text, and email) and other electronic means (such as smartphones, landline telephones, and video technology) to: (a) Provide information to the public (b) Deliver services to clients (c) Communicate with clients (d) Manage confidential information and case records (e) Store and access information about clients (f) Arrange payment for professional services (ASWB, 2013-2014, p. 1)
Benefits of Social Media for Practice Faster, wider, easier access to relevant information from across the globe Facilitates global communication between service providers or between service providers and service users Offers peer support and access to expert advice One example = Maps and Apps website set up by Dept of Health in the UK Are practitionersmaking best use of these possibilities?
E-Professionalism E-Professionalism is concerned with professional behaviour in electronic forms of communication, including social media, emails, texting, etc
Definition of E-professionalism Cain & Romanelli (2009: 67) define e-professionalism as attitudes and behaviors (some of which may occur in private settings) reflecting traditional professionalism paradigms that are manifested through digital media
Word that combines network and etiquette (Scheuermann & Taylor, 1997) Refers to online etiquette or rules of online social engagement and behaviour in digital environments Signing up to certain types of social media networks may require explicit agreement to abide by the netiquette outlined by the provider. Just as in the offline world, the norms of social behaviour change and evolve.
Netiquette Breaches Cyberbullying Stalking Trolls Flamethrowing Sanctions Officially breaches are hard to detect and difficult to police The social media community often manages breaches by ostracizing the delinquent
Pitfalls The online world is a new and different social environment Few ethical guidelines developed to deal with e- professionalism and netiquette Generational divide - may have influence on degree to which current professional educators recognise this as a topic that deserves attention within the curriculum Potential for getting tangled in online Ethical Knots
Online Relationships: Boundaries and Paradoxes Friendship has a different meaning in online contexts Privacy is inherently difficult to guarantee in electronic communication Mistakes are hard to rectify Histories are sticky the right to be forgotten is difficult to enforce Alternative truths it can be difficult to shake off or rectify false information or misrepresentation of fact in online contexts Despite millions of online users, social media can be a lonely place
Some Challenges for Practitioners Reamer (2016) highlights the challenges: Privacy encryption; data protection Confidentiality ditto Boundaries - friending requests; availability & access Documentation protocols; storage & retrieval Competence have practitioners the baseline skills to use new online technologies?
Privacy Understanding how privacy operates is a particular issue when communicating on social media networks: Misunderstanding of the term privacy in the online environment not as watertight as in the offline world. Anything written online can quickly go viral and therefore can quickly become problematic and unjustifiable
Relationship Boundaries Reamer (2009) refers to the complex boundary implications created by electronic social networking sites Potential for Privacy and Boundary Violations Implications for personal privacy what to post about oneself how much information on personal issues should be online? Linked with concept of the individual s electronic footprint. What you post today may come back to haunt you in 2, 5 or 10 years time! Sending inappropriate messages by text, social messaging sites, e-mail
Examples of allegations Work time using the internet for personal online shopping and social networking sites It was inappropriate to communicate with client using Facebook messenger Sent abusive texts to colleagues Blog open to the public and not password protected in which clients were discussed and colleagues criticised Posting photos of patient on Facebook
Examples (contd) Mother complains after finding Facebook comments about her case via Google Watching porn on a work computer Accessed estranged spouse s records without their permission Communicated with a minor via Snapchat Snapchat video of [client] sent to tv station charged with elder abuse
Sections in the Model Guidelines Practitioner Competence and Compliance with Ethical Standards Informed Consent Privacy and Confidentiality Boundaries, Dual Relationships, and Conflicts of Interest Records and Documentation Collegial Relationships Electronic Practice Across Jurisdictional Boundaries
Conclusions Social Media and Electronic technology are here to stay Practitioners can identify many benefits for their practice in this new electronic Social World Practitioners need to adapt in order to: Positively mobilize these new communication resources for the benefit of service users Become aware of the potentially negative aspects of these resources and develop strategies and codes of conduct to avoid problems
Laura Cundy Quote Today s amazing digital tools had their origins in this impulse to share ideas, to teach, to pass on culture. And, of course, communication technologies continue to evolve at a dramatic rate some [writers in her book] celebrate the potential of email, Skype calls, and social networking for improving communication, empowering people, and offering therapeutic options, others are more apprehensive about embracing change uncritically, and caution us to be reflective and discriminating in our relationships with digital media technology lest we allow ourselves to be controlled by it. (p. xviii)
Recommended Readings ASWB (2015) Model regulatory standards for technology and social work practice. https://www.aswb.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/aswb-model-regulatory-standards-for-technologyand-social-work-practice.pdf Cain, J. & Romanelli, F. (2009) E-professionalism: a new paradigm for a digital age. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 1(2): 66-70. Cundy, L. (2015) Love in the Age of the Internet: Attachment in the Digital Era. London: Karnac Books. Kirwan, G. (2012) Social Media, E-Professionalism and Netiquette in Social Work. Irish Social Worker, Autumn 2012: 9-12. Kirwan, G. and Mc Guckin C. (2013) Professional Reputation and Identity in the Online World. International Review of Information Ethics, Special Edition on Reputation in the Cyberworld, 19, July 2013, pp. 47-55. Kirwan, G. and Mc Guckin, C. (2014) Digital Natives or Digitally Naïve? E-professionalism and ethical dilemmas among newly graduated teachers and social workers in Ireland. The Journal of Technology in Human Services, 32, pp. 119-132. Reamer, F.G. (2009) Eye on Ethics: Novel Boundary Changes: Social Networking. Social Work Today, 13 Nov 2009. Http://www.socialworktoday.com/news/eoe_111309.shtml Reamer, F.G. (2013) Social Work in a Digital Age: Ethical and Risk Management Challenges. Social Work. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f192/380e99c91d72ac52fd76670d4ceefc0853a7.pdf Reamer, F.G. (2016) Evolving Ethical Standards in the Digital Age. Australian Social Work Scheuermann, L. & Taylor, G. (1997) Netiquette. Internet Research: Electronic Networking Application and Policy, 7(4): 269-273.