Technology has revolutionized social service delivery in unprecedented ways. Through technological tools such as videoconferencing, social workers attend to their clients through online platforms. Clients do not have to travel physically to healthcare settings to seek services, and this trend can potentially reduce stigma and cost for clients. Technology makes it easier for social workers to interact with each other to educate patients on important social issues affecting their lives and how they should cope with different situations. Likewise, through these online platforms, social workers may form advocacy groups to advance clients’ and social service workers’ rights. The absence of human touch between the client and the social service provider is a crucial issue many see as an obstacle to fully embracing technology. Nevertheless, technology in social service work improves efficiency, accessibility, and quality, enabling professionals to meet better clients’ unique needs and concerns (Zastrow, 2018).
Technology in the field of social work plays significant roles in improving the efficiency of work in various ways. For instance, social work technology helps organize and manage data well (Freddolino, 2019). Social workers deal with a lot of information and data, files, and documents from various clients; using technology tools and software, the professionals can store the data well, retrieve, and process it, thus making their work easier. This technology has helped social workers to access data easily and effectively on time. Additionally, technology in social work promotes proper communication and corporation among workers and the clients involved in the case. Digital modes of communication such as emails, messages, phone calls and video calls help social workers exchange information and make proper decisions between social workers and clients, which helps both parties understand and deliver the roles in the cases involved. Communication reduces time wastage, thus improving its efficiency.
With the emergence of technology, most organizations have established telehealth services for their clients. Clients can seek social services and engage with social workers from different areas without necessarily travelling to health centres and organizations. The introduction of this telehealth helps social workers and caregivers to be able to reach out to clients who are in rural areas and monitor their well-being on time, thus improving the efficiency of the work. Technology helps professionals in this field to be able to access various resources and research through the Internet (Jørgensen et al., 2022). With the availability of the Internet, social workers can conduct research on good practices and resources, thus improving the efficiency of service delivery.
In addition to efficiency, using technology in social work improves the accessibility of services by providing remote services to clients. Clients from different regions and remote areas can access services through digital platforms without travelling to the facilities and organizations. Technology has brought about mobile App applications for social work, allowing clients to access various information and resources they need on their smartphones at any given time. Mobile Apps applications make it easy for those who do not have laptops to access social services, and it is more portable than computers and laptops. Technology in social work leads to easy accessibility of resources and relevant information at any given time. With good Internet, social workers and clients can access different resources and information such as social services, various health programs, and community support groups they need at their convenience.
Similarly, the emergence of technology in social work has made it easier to access client data easily because it is well stored through software, making it easier for them to retrieve and access it when needed (Freddolino, 2019). Through easy accessibility of data, professionals can make good and sound decisions on improving their services. The availability of communication channels and digital platforms promotes the accessibility of social services for customers. Individuals with communication challenges can access these services through messaging and emails at any time of the day without the help of a third-party person. In general, technology in social work has positively impacted the accessibility of services to all groups of people in the world.
Additionally, technology improves quality, enabling social workers to meet clients’ needs. Technology in social work increases the chances of being more creative and innovative in new actions and procedures to improve the quality of the services offered to consumers (Jørgensen et al., 2022). Social work has more possibilities for new actions and procedures because technology gives workers, supervisors, and caregivers access to relevant resources and information. Social workers can come across resources, ways and best practices that they can put into practice to improve the quality of the services they are delivering to the consumers. Through this technology, social workers’ teams can always stay updated with new interventions that improve the quality of the social work team.
Furthermore, social work technology helps social workers easily collect data, store it, and analyze it based on the services they provide to consumers. Through this data, the social work team can point out gaps that exist between the two parties, monitor the progress of the services to consumers and come up with sound decisions that will help to fill the gaps and improve the quality of the services to meet the needs and the demands of their customers (Brady et al., 2015). Moreover, with the availability of electronic health records and management systems, social workers can easily access clients’ records that deliver services that align with clients’ needs and interests. Technology in social work leads to teaming and collaboration with various groups of workers both locally and internationally and work together on a common goal towards improving the quality of social services to be delivered.
However, the use of technology is not without demerits. For instance, online counselling leads to losing personal touch between the client and social worker due to its virtue. Online counselling results in losing the personal touch by reducing the Non-Verbal Cues of both parties involved. Reading non-verbal communication cues, such as facial expressions, body language, and eye contact, is not easy in an online session. This results in misunderstanding and trust issues between the social workers and clients. Secondly, technology problems such as poor network connectivity and low-quality videos in e-counselling hinder the session’s efficient flow and distractions, leading to a loss of personal touch and understanding of social workers and consumers.
Face-to-face interaction is very vital in social work because it establishes trust and rapport between the caregiver and the client because it is more authentic and with less disconnection. This interaction helps the social worker and the client to read each other non-verbal cues of communication, which helps them to understand each other better and play their roles effectively in the case (Grossman, 2022). Face-to-face interaction in social work is accompanied by a sense of comfort and support, both emotionally and physically, making clients feel safe in the hands of the social workers.
Lastly, technology in social work increases the chances of cyber insecurity because online platforms represent data risks of clients. In cases where social worker organizations have not implemented good cyber security measures, this may lead to breaching of data, which gives unauthorized persons access to clients’ data and manipulate it (Goodman, 2023). The use of Poor and insecure channels of communication for exchanging information with clients in organizations encourages cyber insecurity because intruders find it easy to hack and access the data systems. Weak passwords and outdated software and systems in social work organizations expose the organization’s account to hackers to access the organization’s sensitive data. Technology is very important in social work today. However, organizations should balance it well to prevent the loss of personal touch with clients and create proper Cyber security awareness and measures in the organization.
References
Brady, S. R., Young, J. A., & McLeod, D. A. (2015). Utilizing digital advocacy in community organizing: Lessons learned from organizing in virtual spaces to promote worker rights and economic justice. Journal of Community Practice, 23(2), 255–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2015.1027803
Freddolino, P. (2019). Impact of emerging technology in Social Work Practice. Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0277
Goodman, P. (2023, May 18). Seventeen disadvantages of digital technology – turbofuture. https://turbofuture.com/misc/Disadvantages-of-Digital-Technology
Grossman, D. (2022, July 25). Face-to-face communication: 6 benefits of leading in person. Experienced Internal Communication Agency. https://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/blog/bid/44390/leading-in-person-6-reasons-to-communicate-face-to-face
Jørgensen, A. M., Nissen, M. A., Devlieghere, J., & Gillingham, P. (2022). Social Work Technologies. Nordic Social Work Research, 12(3), 323–327. https://doi.org/10.1080/2156857x.2022.2076302
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